Leadership Team
Liquid Environmental Solutions Board of Directors
The company’s Board of Directors currently consists of the company’s Chief Executive Officer and five independent directors.
Bruce E. Ranck
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Ranck is a partner in Bayou City Partners, a venture capital firm. Mr. Ranck was the Chief Executive Officer of Browning-Ferris Industries ("BFI"), the then second largest solid waste company in North America, from 1995 through its sale to Allied Waste in 1999. Prior to its sale, BFI had annual revenues in excess of $6 Billion and the transactions were valued at $9.1 Billion. Before assuming the position of CEO, Mr. Ranck served in various increasingly responsible roles at BFI beginning in 1970, including President and Chief Operating Officer. He was elected to the Board of BFI in 1990. After the sale of BFI, Mr. Ranck served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tartan Textile Services, a linen management services company serving the healthcare and hospitality industries from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Ranck has served on the Boards of Furon Company, Chase Bank of Texas, Dynamex, and SITA, the largest non-North American waste services company in the world. Mr. Ranck also currently serves as a director of Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR), a specialty construction company serving the energy and telecommunications industries, with over $4 Billion in annual revenues. He is currently, or has served, on the Boards of several not-for-profit organizations, including the Memorial Healthcare System, United Way of Texas – Gulf Coast, and the Sam Houston Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Alan Viterbi
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Viterbi is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Environmental Solutions since the company’s formation in 2002. He was previously a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Public Technologies (USPT), the North American market leader in traffic photo enforcement, from its inception in 1988 until the sale of its business to Lockheed Martin in January 1999. He continued with Lockheed Martin for the two-year transition period as the Vice President of Photo Enforcement, also serving as a member of the Management Committee for Lockheed Martin’s state and local government subsidiary. Prior to founding USPT, Mr. Viterbi was the Mayor of West Hollywood, California, and a member of the City Council from 1984 to 1988. He has also served on various public agency boards, including as Chairman of Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 4, and most recently as a member of the California Export Finance Board. Mr. Viterbi’s education includes an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at U.C.L.A., where he was a Charles F. Scott Fellow, a Public Affairs Fellowship with the Coro Foundation, and a B.A. from U.C.L.A.
Michael Kahn
Director
Mr. Kahn is senior counsel at Crowell & Moring (“C&M”) and is a member of the Litigation Group. Mr. Kahn's practice involves federal and state court proceedings throughout the United States. (C&M provides legal services to the Corporation.) Prior to joining C&M, Mr. Kahn was a senior counsel at the San Francisco firm of Folger Levin & Kahn LLP. A member of the California Bar since 1973, he has extensive environmental experience and has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in significant and complex environmental litigation and transactions. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Kahn has served as Chair of the California Independent System Operator Corporation Board of Governors. From 2000 to 2001, he served as chair of the California Electricity Oversight Board and in 2000, Mr. Kahn served as Chair of the California Green Energy Team. Mr. Kahn serves as a Commissioner of the California Commission on Judicial Performance; in 1999-2000, he served as Vice Chair and in 2001-2002, he served as Chair of the Commission. Mr. Kahn currently serves on the Boards of InPro Biotechnology, Inc. and Premier Pacific Vineyards, Inc. He has also previously served on the Board of the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, Board of Directors of Coro Northern California Foundation, and the Board of Visitors at Stanford Law School. His education includes an M.A. and J.D. from Stanford University and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.).
Mary A. Gade
Director
Ms. Gade is the President of the Gade Environmental Group, an international consulting firm providing legal and strategic advice on environmental and energy issues. From 2006 to 2008, she served as Regional Administrator for Region 5 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), overseeing federal environmental programs in the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Ms. Gade is an environmental attorney with more than 20 years of experience in environmental regulation and enforcement at the federal and state levels, as well as extensive private sector experience. From 1999 to 2006, she was a partner in the national environmental practice group of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. From 1991 to 1999, Ms. Gade served as Director of the Illinois EPA. During her tenure, she was a co-founder of the national Environmental Council of States, and in 1997 was named as Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine. Prior to this, she served in various management roles at the U.S. EPA, including Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Her education includes a J.D. from Washington University and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin.
Tom Soto
Director
Tom is Managing Partner and co-founder of Craton Equity Partners, an innovative clean technology private equity firm focused on reducing carbon and responding to climate change. Craton’s investment focus includes renewable and distributed energy, alternative fuels, wastewater treatment and recycling. Mr. Soto served as Team Co-lead of the Executive Office of the President's Transition Team focused on the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for President Barack Obama. He previously served on the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, a Federal agency which oversaw and insured that the environmental component of the North American Free Trade Agreement was adhered to, and that the financial resources committed to these concerns were available through the multi-billion dollar North American Development Bank. He was selected by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of 2010's One Hundred Most Influential Hispanics in the United States. Mr. Soto also serves on the Boards of EnLink GeoEnergy, GridPoint, Principle Energy Limited and Propel BioFuels. His education includes a B.A. from U.C.L.A.
Joseph A. Walker
Director
Mr. Walker is a strategic advisor to private equity firms and operating companies in various industries. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Walker served as a senior advisor to General Motors, where he advised the corporation on a variety of corporate finance and development issues, including investment and balance sheet strategy, performance metrics, and the restructuring of investments in Hughes, Fiat, Isuzu, GMAC, and Onstar. Prior to this, he spent 22 years with J.P. Morgan & Co., thirteen as a Managing Director. The final four years, he served as a Senior Investment Banker; as well as a member of the Investment Banking Management Committee, J.P. Morgan Capital Allocation Committee, and 60 Wall Street Funds Advisory Board. From 1989 to 1997 he served in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Department, including three years as Co-Head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions, where his clients included a broad array of industries, including solid waste. Mr. Walker served on the Board of the Hertz Corporation from 1997 to 2001, and currently serves on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations. His education includes an M.B.A. and a B.A. from Columbia University.
Liquid Environmental Solutions Corporate Officers
William Bergstrom
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President
Mr. Bergstrom is responsible for the Company’s accounting, financial, information technology, human resources, and risk management functions. Prior to joining LES, Mr. Bergstrom served in increasingly responsible capacities for one of the nation’s largest charter bus operators through three different ownership structures (and company names): from 2006 to 2008, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Coach America ($450 million in revenues, 2,700 vehicles and 5,000 employees), majority owned by Fenway Partners, following its acquisition of American Coach Lines; from 2003 to 2006, he was President, Chief Operating Officer and/or Chief Financial Officer of American Coach Lines, majority owned by Lincolnshire Management, following its acquisition of Coach USA’s Southeast Region; from 2000 to 2003, he was Southeast Regional Vice President of Coach USA; from 1998 to 2000, he was Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations Analysis of Coach USA. Mr. Bergstrom worked for BFI from 1985 to 1998 in various capacities, including auditor, controller, business analysis manager and Vice President, Operations for BFI Medical Waste Systems. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois, and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Texas.
Brian Bidelspach
Vice President, Growth
Mr. Bidelspach joined Liquid Environmental Solutions when the company acquired Resource Recovery Techniques of Arizona (RRTA) in 2005, and is responsible for the development of new branches and plants. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Bidelspach was co-founder and President of RRTA, which owned and operated a state of the art treatment facility for non-hazardous liquid waste. Prior to RRTA, Mr. Bidelspach was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Allwaste Recovery Systems, Inc. (ARS) based in Atlanta, GA. ARS owned and operated four non-hazardous liquid waste treatment facilities and a fleet of vacuum trucks that provided environmental services throughout the southern United States. From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Bidelspach was Vice-President of National Waste Companies. Based in Dallas, National Waste was a leader in the private treatment of non-hazardous liquid waste and provided transportation services to over 5,000 customers throughout Texas. Mr. Bidelspach has over 20 years experience in all aspects of liquid waste management including transportation, compliance and final treatment. Throughout his career Mr. Bidelspach has been active in many trade associations and served on the board of the Dallas Restaurant Association. Mr. Bidelspach’s education includes a B.A. in Urban Planning and Regional Development from Bloomsburg University located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
Peter J. Crane
Vice President of Commercial Services
Mr. Crane joined Liquid Environmental Solutions in 2007 and is responsible for managing the commercial services group that focuses on servicing food related customers; food service establishments, grocers, food manufacturers, and municipal collection contracts. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Crane served in various leadership roles with Browning Ferris Industries (BFI) from 1985-2001. In 2001, Mr. Crane joined Republic Services Eastern Region as its Regional Sales Manager responsible for sales and marketing activities within a 6 state operating region. In 2005 Mr. Crane joined Waste Management as its Market Area Manager overseeing revenue growth for Waste Management’s North Texas market which generates $ 160 million in annualized revenue. Mr. Crane has over 22 years experience in the solid waste collection and disposal industry and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.
Bob Goldberg
Vice President of Industrial Services
Mr. Goldberg joined Liquid Environmental Solutions in 2011 and is responsible for managing the industrial services group that focuses on industrial customers’ transportation and collection of CWT-regulated waste streams, as well as third party plant customers. Prior to joining LES, Mr. Goldberg was with Safety-Kleen and served in progressively more senior roles including large industrial account sales, branch, district, market and regional sales and operations management in California, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. In 2007, Mr. Goldberg moved to Atlanta to become the Vice President of Field Marketing for the East Group including the management of the key and strategic account sales teams. In addition, Mr. Goldberg played a strategic leadership role in implementing a new company-wide business information systems and the redesign of the branch sales and service delivery model that is in place today. Prior to Safety-Kleen, Bob was an Account Executive and District Sales Manager for Rollins Environmental Services from 1989-1996. Mr. Goldberg has over 22 years experience in the waste recycling and environmental industry and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Riverside.
Dana King
Senior Vice President, Business Development
Mr. King is a co-founder of Liquid Environmental Solutions, and is responsible for working with customers, suppliers and public agencies to develop new programs and services to meet the needs of our customers and the environment. In this capacity, he is responsible for the development of the Company’s strategic partnerships as well as exploring potential acquisitions. Prior to this, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Service for USPT from 1995 through 1998, and then continued as Vice President of Marketing for Lockheed Martin IMS’ Photo Enforcement Group during the two-year transition period. In this capacity, he oversaw these companies marketing efforts resulting in a ten-fold increase in client jurisdictions and capturing the dominant share of the U.S. and Canadian marketplaces. Prior to joining USPT, Mr. King served as Sales and Marketing Manager for International Totalizator Systems, where he was responsible for new business development and the company’s expansion into automated ticketing systems for the airline, toll road, and travel distribution markets. He has served as a management consultant, specializing in new product marketing and business development, and was previously employed as a manager and director in several capacities with Continental Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA). While at PSA, he created that airline’s frequent flyer program, and was a founder of PSA Learning Systems, which provided employee and customer service training for the travel, utility and banking industries. Mr. King’s education includes an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at U.C.L.A. and a B.A. in Economics from U.C.S.B.
Rich Leib
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Mr. Leib is a co-founder of Liquid Environmental Solutions, and is responsible for the company’s legal, environmental and regulatory affairs. He oversees the Environmental Policy Department, and is an expert on the regulation of non-hazardous wastewater. Prior to this, Mr. Leib served as the General Counsel of USPT from 1994 through 1998, then continued as Vice President of Legislative Affairs for Lockheed Martin IMS’ Photo Enforcement Group during the two-year transition period. In this capacity, he led these companies’ efforts on behalf of successful photo enforcement legislation in fifteen U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Prior to joining USPT, Mr. Leib co-founded the Investment Management Group at Stone & Youngberg, California’s leading municipal debt underwriter. Before entering the private sector, Mr. Leib was a leading political fundraiser and had served on the legislative staff of two California State legislators and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. His education includes a J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law, an M.A. in Public Affairs Fellowship with the Coro Foundation, and a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara (U.C.S.B.). Mr. Leib is an attorney admitted to practice in California. He currently serves as an elected member of the Solana Beach School Board. He previously served as the President of the Board of Governors of the California Community College System, as an appointee of the Governor.
Patrick J. Reilly
Chief Growth Officer and Senior Vice President
Mr. Reilly is a co-founder of Liquid Environmental Solutions, and is responsible for the company’s growth operations. In this capacity, he is responsible for the opening of new plants and branches, the development of new business offerings, major construction projects, and the due diligence and transition planning for potential acquisitions. Previously, Mr. Reilly served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for USPT from 1996 through 1998, and then continued as Director of Operations for Lockheed Martin IMS’ Photo Enforcement Group during the two-year transition period. In this capacity, he was responsible for a U.S. and Canadian operation covering eleven regional offices in support of clients in fourteen states and four provinces processing over two million traffic citations per year. Mr. Reilly has extensive experience and a strong working knowledge of the public sector. He previously served in municipal government for twenty years, the last sixteen as City Manager for jurisdictions in Missouri and Oregon, most recently in the Portland suburb of Tigard. He has further served as a consultant to municipalities in policy development and implementation as well as in the creation of public water companies and service districts. In the evolution of local government over the past twenty-five years, Mr. Reilly was an early proponent of the movement to privatize municipal services, in various assignments was the architect for private ambulance, street maintenance, recreation and water services to his communities. Immediately prior to joining USPT, Mr. Reilly served as Director of Business Affairs for the Archdiocese of Portland. His education includes an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri and B.A. from Benedictine College.
Mark Saleski
Vice President of Operations
Mr. Saleski joined Liquid Environmental Solutions in 2010 and is responsible for the company’s transportation, processing, safety and compliance, and customer service operations. Prior to joining LES, Mr. Saleski served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at AIR-Serv Group, responsible for its North America operations and sales for coin operated tire inflation and auto vacuum services. Mr. Saleski was successful in helping AIR-Serv to reduce unit cost through several cost reduction initiatives, increase cash flow through improved internal controls and reduced capital spending, and improving customer service by standardizing operating processes. Prior to joining AIR-Serv, Mr. Saleski has also served in various executive and management positions at Allied Waste Industries, General Electric Corporation, and Browning-Ferris Industries. Mr. Saleski has over 30 years experience in strategic operational and financial planning with a focus on managing cost and capital spending reduction while improving operating efficiency and customer service. Mr. Saleski holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan and is also a Certified Public Accountant.