Operational Clarity in a Complex Sector: Placing an Interim Operating Partner in Waste Management

The Client

Our client is a multi-billion-dollar, investor-backed industrial platform with operations spanning the United States and Mexico. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico the organization oversees a diverse portfolio of subsidiaries in automotive manufacturing, agribusiness, healthcare staffing, venture capital, and digital solutions. Their investment model emphasizes long-term value creation through operational excellence, strategic acquisitions, and cross-sector innovation—rather than traditional PE or SaaS constructs.

As part of a broader expansion initiative, the team was evaluating a new opportunity in the waste management sector—an adjacency to their core holdings that required targeted commercial insight and operator-level diligence.

The Challenge

To support this evaluation, the firm sought an Interim Operating Partner who could lead the commercial diligence process and serve as a trusted strategic advisor throughout the assessment. The engagement was time-sensitive and carried the potential to evolve into a longer-term leadership or advisory role.

Key priorities included:

• Leading commercial due diligence, with a focus on market dynamics, customer segmentation, and revenue model evaluation
• Assessing the strength and scalability of the target’s sales organization and operational footprint
• Delivering insight into margin structure, pricing models, and regional trends
• Supporting the investment team with actionable analysis to inform post-close strategy and integration planning

The assignment was structured as a 1–3 month engagement, requiring full-time availability (remote with limited travel). The role demanded both high-level strategic perspective and a hands-on, execution-oriented mindset.

Our Approach

We launched a rapid search focused on experienced executives from the environmental services and waste management sectors. The ideal candidate would bring a proven background in P&L leadership, M&A diligence, and operational transformation—ideally with direct exposure to both founder-led and investor-backed businesses.

Search criteria included:

• Prior experience leading or advising on acquisitions within the waste and recycling industry
• Deep knowledge of operational models, pricing strategies, and route-based service businesses
• Demonstrated success in managing complex integrations and sales team structures
• A pragmatic, detail-oriented leadership style that emphasized collaboration and results
• Comfort working with investors and translating operational insights into strategic guidance

Within a week, we identified a highly qualified executive with the precise blend of hands-on experience and commercial acumen needed for the role.

The Placement

The interim executive brought over three decades of leadership experience in the waste management industry. His background included:

• Founding and growing a waste services company that was later acquired by a national waste provider
• Leading post-acquisition integration efforts while supporting the acquirer’s M&A team on additional transactions
• Advising multiple waste management firms, private equity sponsors, and investment banks on commercial diligence and operational strategy
• Consulting on technology adoption, performance improvement, and cost reduction initiatives across various industry subsegments
• A longstanding reputation as a thoughtful, operator-first advisor who could move fluidly between board-level conversations and field-level assessments
• He entered the engagement with a deep understanding of the sector’s economic drivers and a practical view of how to assess growth potential under investor ownership.
  

The Outcome

The interim leader was embedded within two weeks and quickly became a core contributor to the investment team. Over the course of the engagement, he delivered a clear, data-backed assessment of the target’s market position and growth potential. His insights gave the client the clarity and confidence needed to move forward with diligence and planning, while also laying the foundation for a potential longer-term leadership partnership.