Clean Harbors Appoints Robert Willett Chairman of the Board
Clean Harbors, Inc. ("Clean Harbors" or the "Company") (NYSE:CLH) today announced that it has named Robert Willett as Chairman of the Board, effective immediately, completing the Board transition first announced in May when Founder and Executive Chairman Alan S. McKim communicated his intention to retire from the Board.
McKim’s decision to retire comes after more than four decades of service. McKim founded Clean Harbors in 1980 and led the Company’s growth and transformation into North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services.
Willett has been an independent member of the Clean Harbors board since 2019. He spent 14 years as Chief Executive Officer of Cognex Corporation, a global leader in machine vision systems, retiring in June 2025. During his tenure, Cognex significantly expanded its global footprint and nearly tripled its revenue.
"Rob has been a valuable member and strong contributor to the Clean Harbors board for the past seven years," said McKim. "He has deep operational knowledge based on his decades working in the technology and automation space, as well as extensive public company and board experience from his years leading Cognex through a significant growth expansion phase. He is the ideal choice to lead the Board given his skillset. I fully expect Clean Harbors to continue to grow and thrive with Rob as Chairman, working closely with our co-CEOs Eric Gerstenberg and Mike Battles to execute our long-term vision. As I step back to spend more time with my family and pass the torch to the next generation of leaders, Clean Harbors’ mission to build a safer, cleaner environment remains unchanged."
Willett serves on the boards of Formlabs, a private industrial 3D printing company, and Allegro MicroSystems (NASDAQ:ALGM), a global leader in sensing and power semiconductor solutions. Prior to joining Cognex, he served as Vice President of Business Development and Innovation for the Product Identification Business Group at Danaher Corporation, a diversified industrial company specializing in process improvement and acquisitions, and as President of Videojet Technologies, a leader in coding products. He previously was Chief Executive Officer of Willett International Ltd., a coding and marking company that was sold to Danaher and merged with Videojet. He received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an MBA from Yale University.
"We have worked closely with Rob in his role as an independent director and are excited to welcome him as Chairman," said co-Chief Executive Officer Mike Battles. "Rob’s operating experience as a CEO, disciplined approach to capital allocation and strong understanding of our company and culture will be invaluable as we continue to execute our growth strategy and advance our industry leadership position."
"Since joining our Board, Rob has been a highly engaged and thoughtful board member, contributing meaningfully to the development of our long-term strategy and governance framework," said co-Chief Executive Officer Eric Gerstenberg. "His deep knowledge of Clean Harbors and contributions to our strategic and governance priorities will provide important continuity as he steps into this Board leadership position."
About Clean Harbors
Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) is North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services. The Company serves a diverse customer base, including a majority of Fortune 500 companies. Its customer base spans a number of industries, including chemical, manufacturing and refining, as well as numerous government agencies. These customers rely on Clean Harbors to deliver a broad range of services such as end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency spill response, industrial cleaning and maintenance, and recycling services. Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is a leading provider of parts washers and environmental services to commercial, industrial and automotive customers, as well as North America’s largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil. Founded in 1980 and based in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans to," "seeks," "will," "should," "estimates," "projects," "may," "likely," "potential," "outlook" or similar expressions. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Chairman of the Board transition, future financial and operating results, plans, strategy, objectives and goals, cost management initiatives, pricing and productivity initiatives, contingent liabilities, liquidity, business, economic and market conditions, trends, customer demand, impacts of tariffs and new legislation, acquisitions, growth opportunities, expectations, challenges and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the beliefs and expectations of Clean Harbors’ management as of the date of this press release only and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation: operational and safety risks; risks relating to the failure of new or existing technologies; cybersecurity risks; the occurrence of natural disasters or other catastrophic events, as well as their residual macroeconomic effects; risks associated with retaining and hiring key personnel; environmental liability and product liability risks relating to hazardous waste management and other components of the Company’s business; negative economic, industry or other developments, including market volatility or economic downturns; risks associated with management’s assumptions relating to expansion of the Company’s landfills; reductions in the demand for emergency response services at industrial facilities or on roadways, railways or waterways, and other remedial projects and regulatory developments; reductions in the demand for oil products and automotive services and volatility in oil prices in the markets the Company serves; changes in statutory and regulatory requirements and risks relating to extensive environmental laws and regulations; risks associated with existing and potential litigation; risks associated with the Company’s identification and execution of strategic capital expenditures, acquisitions and divestitures and their related liabilities; risks relating to the availability and sufficiency of the Company’s insurance coverage, self-insurance, surety bonds, letters of credit and other forms of financial assurance; the impact of new tax legislation or changes in tax regulations and interpretations; the imposition of trade sanctions or tariffs; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; risks relating to the Company’s indebtedness and covenants in its debt agreements; risks associated with certain anti-takeover provisions under the Massachusetts Business Corporation Act and the Company’s By-Laws, and those items identified as "Risk Factors" in Clean Harbors’ most recently filed reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Clean Harbors undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements other than through its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which may be viewed in the "Investors" section of Clean Harbors’ website at www.cleanharbors.com.
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Eric J. Dugas
EVP and Chief Financial Officer
Clean Harbors, Inc.
781.792.5100
InvestorRelations@cleanharbors.com
Jim Buckley
SVP Investor Relations
Clean Harbors, Inc.
781.792.5100
Buckley.James@cleanharbors.com