Biffa chief executive steps down

His departure, which emerged last night (May 20), sees Mark Keough assume the role of interim chief executive with immediate effect.

Bill Woodburn, chairman of Biffa, said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Andre for his contribution to the Group and wish him well for the future. Mark's background and experience mean that he is well suited to lead the Group into its next phase of growth and I'm delighted to welcome him to Biffa.”

Energy

During his tenure, Mr Horbach had been heavily involved in shifting the company towards energy generation and away from its traditional base of waste management and landfill disposal (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, he oversaw plans to develop Biffa's second anaerobic digestion facility, with planning permission granted for an 80,000 tonnes-a-year capacity plant in Cannock, Staffordshire in November 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

At the same time as the announcement that the firm would be moving towards energy, Biffa also undertook a large-scale restructuring internally from depot managers to director level, which saw a number of individuals leave the company.

Commenting on his departure, Mr Horbach, said: “I have enjoyed my time leading Biffa. I am confident that Biffa has a strong future ahead of it and I wish the company every success going forward.”

The departure of Mr Horbach comes shortly after Biffa's collections manager, Nick Gregg, also left the company. The reasons for Mr Gregg's or Mr Horbach's departure have not been disclosed.

A spokesman for Biffa confirmed that there had been changes in personnel at the company, he said: “There has been some restructuring.” However, the extent of the measure is not known.

Interim

Taking over Mr Horbach is Mr Keough, who has over 20 years experience at senior management level including being a partner at management consultancy McKinsey, chief operating officer at an electronics distribution firm and, most recently, as chief executive at a pan-European health care service provider.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Keough said: “This is an exciting time to join Biffa as the company continues with its strategy of developing integrated waste management solutions to best meet customers' current and future needs.

“I look forward to working with the Board and management team to ensure the success of the business going forward.”