A spokesman for Veolia confirmedtoday (April 6) that Mr Levett is due to leave at the end of this week. He stressed it was Mr Levetts decision rather than Veolias and that there had been no falling out.
He said: Paul is retiring. He is considering taking some non-executive roles and to get a better work/life balance.
Mr Levett, 53, has held the role of deputy chief executive director of Veolia ES UK since November 1, 2008. During this time he helped with the integration of Cleanaway his former employer – into the business, has spoken at many events on behalf of the company and worked closely to help introduce the American rewards-based recycling scheme RecycleBank to the UK.
His sudden departure is expected to come as a surprise to many in the sector, especially as he held such a senior role.
The spokesman explained Veolia was sad to see Mr Levett go as he had a lot of experience and had worked in the waste sector for a long time but said that it was not a major story.
It is understood that after a short break Mr Levett will continue to act as a special external advisor to Veolia ES chief executive, Jean-Dominique Mallet.
Career
Before joining Veolia, Mr Levett was director/general manager for recycling, disposal and municipal services at Cleanawy since 2005, having performed the role of strategy director since September 2004. Previous to this, he had also worked in the USA for five years, where he was president and general manager of the CHEP businesses in Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Canada.
Paul previously held the position of executive vice president and global CFO of CHEP as well as having GM responsibility for the global IBC and automotive container business.
The spokesman said it was too early to say if a replacement deputy chief executive would be appointed.
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