LRS’s chief operating officer, John Larsen, has announced his retirement, the company confirmed on Friday. His departure marks the latest change within the company’s top three C-suite roles, all of which have been reset with new faces in the past few months.
Larsen had worked with the company for about 10 years before announcing his retirement. “He has made significant contributions to the waste and recycling industry, elevating teams, building businesses and ultimately leaving behind a lasting legacy,” according to an emailed statement from the company.
LRS will undergo a “nationwide search” for a new COO, according to a company spokesperson. In the meantime, Matt Spencer, LRS’s new CEO, will assume many of Larsen’s responsibilities alongside Luke Chenery, LRS’s new CFO, and other members of the leadership team, according to the company.
LRS hired Chenery in July, and Spencer joined the company in September. Alan Handley, the previous president and CEO, departed the role in May.
In addition to leadership changes, LRS also recently went through a round of layoffs. According to multiple sources, the company reduced staff by dozens, including in its corporate office. An LRS spokesperson said in an email that the layoffs affected less than 1% of staff and included positions “across the business.” The Illinois-based company reported in August that it had almost 2,300 full-time employees.
LRS has scaled rapidly through acquisitions in recent years, most recently focusing on expanding its Chicago-area footprint while also growing in Michigan and Indiana. It also opened a new $50 million MRF in Chicago.
In February, it completed a corporate restructuring meant to support an “aggressive growth strategy” by promoting numerous leaders throughout the organization and creating new autonomous regions in the Great Lakes area, the Central U.S. and the South.
The layoffs were part of what the company described as its recent “integration,” and were meant to help “optimize our resources, setting us up for long-term success and future growth,” LRS said in a statement.
Lead Editor Cole Rosengren contributed to this report.
