Name: Tara Hemmer
New title: Executive vice president and chief operating officer
Previous title: Senior vice president and chief sustainability officer
Tara Hemmer will become WM’s new COO, the company announced on Wednesday. Hemmer will manage the company’s operating platform, and she will continue to lead WM’s sustainability-related businesses, including recycling, renewable energy and advisory services.
Hemmer will report to John Morris, the company’s president, who has been serving as COO since 2019.
Hemmer has been WM’s chief sustainability officer since 2021. Morris praised Hemmer’s leadership in the sustainability sector, including the company’s work to build 14 new renewable natural gas sites and 37 recycling facilities. “There is no one more well-prepared than Tara to lead and evolve WM's operations for the future," he said in a statement.
In a 2023 interview with Waste Dive, she underscored how sustainability investments can help boost business by boosting efficiency and safety while reducing labor costs and generating cleaner, higher-value commodities.
In a news release announcing her promotion to COO, Hemmer said she continues to see WM as an “environmental innovator.”
Hemmer will receive a base pay of $850,000 as well as stock options, according to filings.
Hemmer joined WM in 1999. She has also served in roles such as senior vice president of field operations and senior vice president of operations, safety and environmental compliance. She was also vice president of disposal operations and area vice president for the greater mid-Atlantic area.
She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
As COO, “I'm looking forward to accelerating WM's operations transformation focused on deploying next-generation technology that will advance the modernization of our operating model," Hemmer said in a statement.
"Most importantly, I'm proud to have the opportunity to lead such an exceptional Operations organization, including our over 47,000 frontline employees.”
WM also announced that Rafael Carrasco, WM’s senior vice president of enterprise strategy and president of the WM Healthcare Solutions business, will retire effective July 16. He worked for WM for 10 years, most recently to help integrate WM’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Stericycle.
After Carrasco’s retirement, the WM Healthcare Solutions business will report to Morris, the company said in the news release.
The leadership transitions come a few months after former WM CFO Devina Rankin announced her retirement, with David Reed taking on the role.
