Heritage-Crystal Clean CEO Chalhoub to Retire

Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc. (HCCI) a leading provider of parts cleaning, used oil re-refining, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste services primarily focused on small and mid-sized customers, announced the retirement of Founder, President and CEO Joe Chalhoub effective January 31, 2017.

Chalhoub will be succeeded by Brian Recatto, who has served Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. as a director for the past four years and was named lead director earlier this year.
"It is with mixed emotions that I announce my retirement,” Chalhoub said in a statement. “It has been an exciting journey since Heritage Crystal Clean was formed in 1999. I would like to thank our shareholders, our employees and my family for their continued commitment and support during these years. I am very proud of the company we've created and the results that we've produced over the past 17 years."

Stifel analyst Michael E. Hoffman currently has a buy rating on HCCI with a target price of $20. “The upstream energy headwinds that depressed environmental services sales should begin to turn in 4Q16 and the used oil spread is a clear beneficiary of higher oil prices but even if oil is unchanged base oil supply/demand is nearing equilibrium and that is good for the crude/lube spread which is at a long-term low below $1/gallon,” Hoffman wrote in a research note on the company last week.

"I look forward to the continued growth of the company under the leadership of Brian Recatto,” Chalhoub continued. “Brian's many years as an environmental service industry executive and his time on the board of Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. will serve him well in his new role. I will be working closely with Brian during the transition and will be available to assist him and the board for the next couple of years.”

"Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc., has been building a world class customer-focused environmental solutions business since its inception," Recatto said in a statement. "For the past four years I have been privileged to serve on the board and observe the company's quality culture and operations. I am eagerly looking forward to leading the HCCI team and building upon the legacy of top-tier service and focused growth that Joe and his team have established. HCCI's premier environmental services platform provides us the opportunity to strategically expand our business both organically and through acquisitions."

With almost 30 years of experience in the environmental services industry, Recatto has served, since 2014, as president U.S. operations for Gibson Energy Inc., an independent midstream energy company in Canada and a major U.S. crude oil logistics operator.

Recatto joined Gibsons through its acquisition of OMNI Energy Services, where he had served in various executive positions since 2007, including vice president and COO and president and CEO. Recatto was president from 2004 to 2007 of Charles Holston Inc., a waste management and environmental cleaning company, which OMNI acquired.

Chalhoub took home a salary of $456,645 in 2015, making him one of the lowest paid CEOs among publicly traded solid waste and environmental services firms.