Dive Brief:
- Anaergia, a Canada-based organics recycling and renewable natural gas company, has a new CEO. Assaf Onn, a member of the company’s board of directors, became acting CEO June 24.
- Onn has been chief operating officer at Marny Investissement since 2008. Marny announced plans for a $40.8 million (Canadian) strategic investment in Anaergia late last year. The second tranche of that multi-phase investment was finalized in April.
- Brett Hodson, who became Anaergia’s CEO in June 2023, has departed. The company described the decision as a mutual one between him and the board of directors.
Dive Insight:
Anaergia went public in 2021 and has grown through acquisitions and technology deployments, but it has struggled financially due in part to a slower uptick in organics recycling volumes than expected.
Onn joined the company’s board this spring in connection with the second tranche of Marny’s investment closing. According to Anaergia, Onn has multiple decades of experience in retail, commercial and housing real estate and hospitality.
“I see great potential in Anaergia’s technologies and global footprint,” said Onn in a statement. “The rest of the board, and I, want to move forward and take the necessary steps to advancing Anaergia towards realizing that potential.”
The company recently sold its Rialto Bioenergy Facility in California to Sevana Bioenergy for $20 million as part of a bankruptcy process involving that subsidiary.
Shortly after Rialto filed for bankruptcy last year, Hodson took over the CEO role from founder Andrew Benedek.
“As we enter the next chapter of Anaergia’s journey with the significant investment and show of confidence in the company’s business by Marny, it is only natural that Marny would desire to lead the company and accordingly this is the right time to transition leadership,” Benedek, chairman of the board, said in a statement.
Anaergia has reported multiple delays in filing its audited financial statements and related disclosures for 2023. This led the Ontario Securities Commission to issue a failure to file cease trade order in April that prohibits the company from trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Anaergia said June 18 it anticipates filing required documents by month’s end.
