Richard Burke was named CEO of Chicago-based Veolia Environmental Service North America (VESNA). Burke, president of Veolia ES Solid Waste since 2007, replaces Michel Gourvennec, who recently announced his retirement. Burke will continue to manage Veolia ES Solid Waste until his replacement is found.

“We are fortunate to have within our organization a strong and vibrant leader in Richard Burke,” said Denis Gasquet, CEO of Veolia Environmental Services worldwide, in a press release. “As the solid waste market has transformed over the past few years, Richard has delivered the strategic insights and initiatives to build the division and produce strong results for the company. We are confident that Richard will build upon the many successes achieved by Michel to create a more prosperous organization.”

VESNA offers integrated environmental services to industrial, commercial, municipal and residential clients. The company has four divisions: Industrial Services, Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste and Waste-to-Energy.

Burke entered the solid waste industry in 1987, when he started as a route supervisor for Waste Management. There, he worked his way up to director of operations for New York state before joining Superior Services (which became Onyx Waste Services before morphing into Veolia ES Solid Waste) in 1999. Before heading Veolia ES Solid Waste, Burke served as vice president of the division's Eastern Region.

During his 25 years with Veolia Environnement, VESNA's parent company, Gourvennec held a range of positions.

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