S3 announces personnel changes

S3 Recycling Solutions, Springfield, Tennessee, has announced that Darrell S. Freeman Sr., the company’s majority owner, died June 28 at 57. Darrell Freeman had joined the company as its chairman of the board of directors in 2016, helping to grow the company’s annual revenue 650 percent over the last six years. He became a majority owner of S3 in 2020.

In his career, he also built a tech company, Zycron Inc., and sold the business in 2017 for $20 million, according to a report from WDEF-TV, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

According to Darrell Freeman’s obituary, he also was known as a “Nashville businessman, philanthropist, civic leader and family man” and “for his service to others whether on corporate boards, in mentoring relationships or flying supplies to suffering people.” He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Gloria, and their four children, Ebony, Kenya, Darrell Jr. and Nathan.

“Since losing our dear friend in June, the team at S3 has taken time to heal and strengthen our resolve to honor him the best way we know how: to follow the model that he showed us—to treat people right, have fun, make money and give back to the community, all while establishing ourselves as a leader in the electronics and information technology recycling industry,” says Rod McDaniel, CEO of S3 Recycling Solutions.

He continues, “When asked in a 2020 interview how he wanted to be remembered, he responded, ‘As a giver to the community, and a good husband and father to his wife and kids.’ It’s a value system that is very closely aligned with mine, which I believe made it so easy for us to work together.”

To commemorate Darrell Freeman, McDaniel says S3 has named him past chairman of the board in memoriam, a title he will hold indefinitely.

Freeman’s youngest son, Nathan Freeman, has recently joined S3 as a sales executive. Nathan Freeman graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in May, where he studied business management with a collateral in entrepreneurship at the Haslam College of Business. He also served as a warehouse worker at S3 in the summer of 2018 and spent subsequent summers interning with S3.

In Nathan’s new role as sales executive, he is responsible for creating new business development opportunities for S3 throughout the U.S. and Canada, handing those accounts to an internal client services team.

“My dad was really excited about S3, probably the most excited he’s been about a company since Zycron, so I’m really happy to be here,” Nathan Freeman says. “My goal is to help the organization grow and learn what it takes to be a great CEO and leader.”

McDaniel adds that Darrell Freeman served as a mentor to him in his career at S3. He says he hopes to pass along entrepreneurial wisdom to Nathan Freeman. McDaniel says, “Without Darrell’s willingness to be patient with me as I matured as an entrepreneur and open doors for me, S3 could not have experienced the success that it has. Now it is my opportunity to pay it forward to his son.”