OUR Leadership
Richard d'Abo
Chairman
Richard is a co-founder of New Planet Energy. He lives in Los Angeles, California where he is a partner in the private equity firm, The Yucaipa Companies.
Richard served as Chairman of Eimskip, a publicly-traded Icelandic shipping and logistics company (EIM on Nasdaq Reykjavik) from 2013-2018. Yucaipa successfully sold its remaining stake in EIM in 2018.
Richard also served as a Trustee of Americold Realty Trust (a REIT) from 2013-2018. He helped build Americold into the largest temperature-controlled storage company in the world.
He was instrumental in Americold’s (sym: COLD) very successful IPO at $16 per share in January 2018 raising primary and secondary proceeds of $833 million; and in a follow on offering in September 2018 at $24.50 per share, raising $1.05 billion in primary and secondary proceeds. In February 2019, Yucaipa successfully exited in a secondary of $1.3 billion priced at $27.75 per share.
Jay Johnson
Vice Chairman & Treasurer
In addition to serving as Vice Chairman and Treasurer of New Planet, Jay currently serves as Chairman and principal owner of HomeWAV.
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Jay founded Johnson Risk Management, which continues to serve farmers and landowners with their risk management, including crop insurance and hedging services.
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Jay founded Johnson Grain, a grain handling and storage facility, and served as President and CEO until its merger with the Scoular Company of Omaha, NE in 2010.
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Jay earned the Small Business Association Person of the Year award for the State of Illinois in 2007. Jay was also selected First Runner up for the National Small Business Association award in Washington, D.C.
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Jay and the Johnson family were honored to be chosen as the agricultural family for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, IL upon its dedication in 2005.
R. Andrew Watts
Director
Andy sits on the board of directors of New Planet with a desire to add value through the areas of strategy, M&A, finance, and strategic planning.
Andy also currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Brown & Brown Inc., one of the largest insurance companies in the nation.
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Andy brings more than 25 years of experience working with and for large global organizations, mid-sized companies experiencing significant growth and start-up organizations.
Prior to his career with Brown & Brown, Andy held CFO and Senior Management positions with such firms as Thomson Reuters, Textera Inc. and as a Senior Manager with PwC.
Board Experience: Andy has held Chairman of the Board, Treasurer and key Investment Committee positions with notable companies including the National Leadership Council (New Jersey Chapter), Make a Wish Foundation (New Jersey Chapter), the Surflight Theatre, and others.
Charlie Appleby
Lead Independent
Board Member
Charlie Appleby served as the Chairman, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Disposal, the fourth largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the United States, from August 2006-June 2014.
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Charlie grew Advanced Disposal into a leading growth-oriented environmental services company providing integrated, nonhazardous solid waste collection, recycling, transfer, and disposal services throughout the eastern U.S.
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Charlie built Advanced Disposal’s network of vertically integrated facilities with 91 operating facilities, 42 landfills, 72 transfer stations and 25 recycling operations in 17 states, employing over 5,000 people and operating a 3,000 truck fleet.
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Charlie completed over 115 acquisitions, totaling in excess of $2.5B, including the US solid waste operations of Veolia Environmental ($~800MM of revenue) and Interstate Waste Services (~$200MM of revenue).
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One of three founding members of Advanced Disposal Services in November 2000, Charlie served as Chief Financial Officer from 2000–August 2006.
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Advanced Disposal was acquired by High Star Capital in August 2006 in a transaction valued at $470 million.
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Charlie has won numerous industry awards, including the induction into the National Waste and Recycling Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
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Prior to founding Advanced Disposal, Charlie was a President and Equity Partner at CAVCO, a private investment company that acquires, invests in, and/or establishes joint ventures with other private companies.
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Prior to CAVCO, Charlie was a Partner and Certified Public Accountant at Grenadier, Appleby, and Collins & Company, a local accounting firm in Jacksonville, FL.
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Charlie is also a (Retired) Colonel of the Florida Army National Guard. He was selected for promotion to Brigadier General prior to retirement in August 2001 after 31 years of service to the U.S. Armed Forces, including Active Duty from August 1970-August 1973.
Ryan Bird
Chief Executive Officer
Ryan joined the New Planet team as CEO in July 2017 and brings over 25 years of waste and recycling industry experience.
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Most recently, Ryan served as Area Manager for Progressive Waste (now Waste Connections Inc (NYSE: WCN)), overseeing all operations for New York City, Long Island, and some landfills in the Northeast region.
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Prior to this, Ryan was the Controller for IESI in New York City which eventually became Progressive Waste.
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Ryan’s first assignment in the industry was with Waste Management, serving as Controller for the Philadelphia market.
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Ryan received a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University and began his professional career as an auditor for Arthur Anderson.
John Cruikshank
President
John is a co-founder of New Planet.
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John leads New Planet's efforts to explore new project opportunities, develop and manage critical relationships with communities, as well as political and regulatory leadership; and effectively oversees the permitting and development process.
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Prior to co-founding New Planet, John spent 6 years at Bio Converter, a waste to energy firm in Los Angeles.
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Since 2001, John has focused exclusively in the environmental fields of waste management and renewable energy.
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John received his B.A. in Business and Marketing from Loyola Marymount University.
George is a Corporate Client Group Director and member of an advisory team with one of the world's largest global investment firms headquartered in New York City. His advisory team provides consulting services to businesses, institutions and high net worth individuals.
George has more than 34 years of experience in the finance industry, having worked for Smith Barney, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and Legg Mason. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with Honors with a BA in Biochemistry and a BS in Molecular Genetics. George is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
George Bauer
Secretary
Charles “Charley” Dargan
Chief Financial Officer
Charley brings 30-plus years of investment banking and securities experience to New Planet Energy, along with hands-on expertise in guiding and preparing early-stage companies for significant growth and capital market transactions.
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Charley is the founder and principal of CFO 911, an organization of senior executives that provides accounting, finance, and operational expertise to both public and private companies that are at strategic inflection points of their development, helping them effectively transition from one business stage to another. He also serves as a director of Hiplink Software, Inc. and CPSM, Inc.
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Prior to founding CFO911 in 2003, Charley was the chief financial officer of Semotus Solutions, Inc., an American Stock Exchange-listed wireless mobility software company. He began his finance career in investment banking with Drexel Burnham Lambert. He later became managing director of two regional firms, including Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, where he was responsible for the management of the private placement activities of the firm. Charley graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. degree in Government from Dartmouth College. He holds M.B.A. and Master of Science (Business Administration) degrees from the University of Southern California.
CONTACT
New Planet Energy
OFFICE LOCATIONS
• 84 Island Bay Lane, Springfield, IL 62712
• 907 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90024
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Email:
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