Personnel Notes

Sierra Adds To Sales Staff
Sierra International Machinery LLC, Bakersfield, Calif., has announced that Frank Baker has joined the company as a regional sales manager. He will be responsible for new and used equipment sales and customer support in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Baker has been involved in heavy equipment sales for more than 20 years. For the past 10 years, he has worked in equipment sales in the recycling industry.

According to Sierra, Baker brings knowledge and experience with him to his position with the company. His sales experience includes vertical and horizontal balers, shear/balers and material handlers.

“It is an honor to be part of such a reputable company, which has dependable service, available parts in stock and heavy-duty products designed for the rugged use in the recycling industry,” Baker says. “I look forward to a lasting relationship with Sierra and becoming a part of their winning team.”

Sierra also has named Joshua Lawrence as its regional sales manager for lower Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.
 

EWSI Names Vice President of Operations
E-Waste Systems Inc., headquartered in London, has announced that Paul Haft has joined the company as vice president of operations and COO of its E-Waste Systems subsidiary, located in Ohio.

Haft will oversee production and operations functions and will manage the operational integration of acquisitions for the company. He also will implement the systems and processes for the development initiatives that EWSI launched after completing its acquisition in Tech Disposal, a Columbus, Ohio, electronics recycler in October 2011.

“We are thrilled to have Paul join our team,” Martin Nielson, EWSI CEO, says. “He is an extremely talented professional who brings excellent knowledge and a great personality to our team.”

Haft previously was an executive for Ohio E-Waste and two other recycling operations. He was instrumental in opening and operating recycling plants in the United States and internationally.

SRS executive Co-Chairs PACE Project Group 2.1
Renee St. Denis, vice president of business development for Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS), with North American headquarters in Chicago, has been named the new co-chair of the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment (PACE) Project Group 2.1.

PACE’s goal is to provide a forum for governments, industry leaders, nongovernmental organizations and academia to address environmentally sound management, refurbishment, recycling and disposal of used and end-of-life computing equipment. Four project groups were created to develop products, as per the Conference of Parties 9 Basel Convention decision on PACE.

The objective of Project Group 2.1 is to collect, review and disseminate guidelines for practicing environmentally sound material recovery and recycling of computer equipment. Project Group 2.1 collaborates with other PACE project groups working on environmental sound management (ESM) principles, refurbishment standards and pilot projects.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate in PACE in a leadership role,” St. Denis says. “I am eager to begin working with PACE because I believe what they are doing to define environmentally sound management criteria for the recovery and recycling of computing equipment will truly help to ensure that proper environmental and employee health and safety standards exist around the world.”

Sims Metal Management announces changes to Board of directors
Sims Metal Management Ltd. (SMM), with its head executive office in New York and finance and administrative offices in Chicago, has announced that Paul Varello has retired as chairman of its board March 1, 2012. The company also has announced that Geoff Brunsdon has replaced Varello as chair.

Brunsdon has served as a non-executive director of the company since November 2009 and as deputy chairperson since September 2011. He was a member of the predecessor board of Sims Group Ltd. from 1999 to 2007.

Varello has served as SMM’s chairperson since August 2009 and as a non-executive director since 2005. He will remain a non-executive director of the company until his retirement Nov. 15, 2012.

Brunsdon says, “It is a great honor to be appointed as chairperson, and I am grateful for this opportunity to provide leadership to our board and the senior management team.”

He adds, “Paul Varello is a trusted colleague and friend and, on behalf of the board and our entire company, I would like to acknowledge his leadership through extraordinary times and thank him for his years of service to the company.”

Sims Metal Management is a worldwide metals and electronics recycling company publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. SMM has more than 260 locations on five continents and more than 6,500 employees.
 

Willis Adds to Staff
Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, based in Portsmouth, N.H., has appointed Gerald Cecil as a practice leader for Willis Programs.

Willis Programs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Willis Group Holdings, partners with insurers and a distribution network of agents/brokers to offer insurance programs to select industries and segments.

In his role, Cecil will be responsible for building on the programs’ national broker distribution network and managing its existing Platinum Broker network.

Cecil will lead the team’s marketing efforts with trade associations and will collaborate with underwriting teams to enhance customer knowledge, understanding and awareness of the various Willis programs, including RecycleGuard, WasteHaulerGuard and AutoServiceGuard.

David Hampson, Willis Programs president and CEO, says, “We are pleased to have Gerry join the Willis Programs family. Gerry has extensive industry specific experience that will help us grow vertically as well as horizontally. In addition, Gerry’s experience with distribution will allow us to improve and grow our distribution network.”

Willis Group Holdings employees 17,000 associates around the world.

Severstal North America Hires Senior Marketing Analyst
The steel company Severstal North America, based in Dearborn, Mich., has appointed Joshua Spoores as its senior marketing analyst as of March 5, 2012.

Prior to joining Severstal, Spoores was president and chief analyst of Steel Reality, a steel market analysis firm that provided services to steel producers, manufacturers and financial organizations.

With Steel Reality, Spoores wrote “This Week in Steel” and “Leading Steel Indicators,” which provided analysis on the steel market and the economy, including steel supply and demand, weekly steel prices, production, equity markets, steel futures and other economic and industry data.

Prior to Steel Reality, Spoores was market research manager at Majestic Steel.

Severstal North America, which describes itself as the fourth largest steelmaker in the United States, is a subsidiary of Russia-based OAO Severstal. Severstal North America was founded in 2004 with OAO Severstal’s acquisition of substantially all of the assets of the former Rouge Industries and its operating subsidiary Rouge Steel Co., both of which were based in Dearborn.