Our Leadership

Azeez Mohammed was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Covanta in December 2021.

Mr. Mohammed has broad functional experience in technology, finance and operations and experience working in 27 different industry segments, including sustainability sectors such as solar, wind, hydrogen and electric vehicle charging. He served as Executive Vice President at Bloom Energy, where he was responsible for international expansion to help countries and businesses transition away from fossil fuels.

For more than 20 years, Mr. Mohammed worked at General Electric, leading multiple standalone industrial businesses. He served as President & CEO of GE Power Conversion, a $2B, 8000-person business which provides solutions to electrify the world’s industries. Previously, he led GE Power Services in the Middle East and Africa, and GE Energy Services in Latin America. He began his career at GE Research and was selected for GE’s Corporate Audit Staff, a prestigious consulting and leadership development organization.

Mr. Mohammed holds both a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras. He also has 25 international patents and has been published in numerous journals.He plays an active role in community organizations such as Junior Achievement and Habitat for Humanity, and through his family trust he supports women’s empowerment and children in need.

Gregg Kam joined Covanta in May 2022 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He oversees all aspects of Covanta’s financial function including corporate finance, treasury, tax, accounting, controls, financial reporting, capital budgeting and forecasting.

Before joining Covanta, Mr. Kam was vice president and chief financial officer at kdc/one, a global leader in custom formulation, package design and manufacturing solutions for beauty, personal care and home care brands. Prior to this, he was chief financial officer of Sonneborn LLC, a manufacturer of specialty hydrocarbons, and The Newark Group, Inc., a manufacturer of recycled paperboard products. Mr. Kam also served as chief financial officer at International Specialty Products, Inc., a global specialty chemical manufacturer.

Mr. Kam holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the New York University: Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is also a certified public accountant.

Tequila Smith joined Covanta in May 2022 as Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. She is responsible for the repositioning and execution of Covanta’s sustainability strategy, focused on amplifying the company’s sustainability achievements through the coordination of programs and initiatives.

Prior to joining Covanta, Ms. Smith spent more than two decades working in the power generation industry. She served as vice president of Sustainability for Georgia Power Company, the largest of the four electric utilities owned and operated by Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. There, she led the implementation of the Environmental, Social and Governance strategy. Previously, she was vice president of Charitable Giving for the Alabama Power Company, president of the Alabama Power Foundation and executive director of the Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund.

Ms. Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Alabama.

Gagan Sood joined Covanta in May 2022 as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer. In this role, Mr. Sood is the strategic driver of the company’s corporate priorities and actionable initiatives that will guide it into the next phase of growth. He also oversees the Procurement & Projects and Digitalization teams.

Prior to joining Covanta, Mr. Sood was Chief Executive Officer, Americas for GE Power Conversion, a GE subsidiary, where he oversaw the company’s Latin America and North America operations. Previously, while serving as Chief Experience Officer/Chief Operating Officer for GE Power Conversion, Mr. Sood led the conceptualization and execution of the company’s transformation plan, achieving profitable growth for the business and accomplishing a culture transformation to a “customer first” approach.

Mr. Sood holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (E&E) from Gulbarga University and a Master of Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a Lean Practitioner and certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Adel Omrani serves as president of Covanta's East Region. In this position, he oversees all aspects of the company's sustainable materials management operations in the northeastern United States.

Mr. Omrani joined Covanta in August 2022 as Executive Vice President, Safety, Operations & Engineering. In this role, he oversaw Covanta's nearly 40 Waste-to-Energy operations in North America. He assumed his current role in January 2023.

Prior to joining Covanta, Mr. Omrani served as a Regional President & CEO in GE Gas Power, one of GE’s largest industrial businesses. There, he led a $1.5B business responsible for all commercial and operational aspects of a 20GW installed base power generation equipment and services business. Prior to this role, Mr. Omrani served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer for various power generation and services business units. Mr. Omrani began his career as a design engineer with GE Aviation and later advanced to the role of General Manager, Contractual Services, Africa for GE Power & Water.

Mr. Omrani holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He is a Lean Practitioner and certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Selma Kivran serves as the president of Covanta's Midwest Region. In this position, she oversees all aspects of the company's sustainable materials management operations in the midwestern United States and eastern Canada.

Ms. Kivran joined Covanta in September 2022 as the president of Covanta Environmental Solutions, leading the effort to provide companies with comprehensive sustainable materials management services. She assumed her current role in January 2023.

Prior to joining Covanta, Ms. Kivran served as Executive Vice President, West Hemisphere for Ethos Energy, where she led the transformation to a regional business model. Previously, she was General Manager, Global Commercial Direct for Ingersoll Rand, leading the global commercial strategy within its Compressor Technology Services business. Ms. Kivran started her career at General Electric, rising through the ranks in roles of increasing responsibility in services and product industries. Her last role at General Electric was General Manager, Aeroderivative Product Line, a product line within the Power Services business.

Ms. Kivran holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering from University of Ankara in Turkey. She is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Amir Hafzalla joined Covanta in January 2023 as President, South Region. In this position, he oversees all aspects of the company's sustainable materials management operations in the southeastern United States.

Prior to joining Covanta, Mr. Hafzalla worked in multiple roles at General Electric, primarily in power generation services. His last role was as President & CEO of FieldCore, a business serving customers in the gas, steam and renewable power generation segments of the oil and gas industry based in Atlanta, GA. Previously, he held multiple global P&L leadership roles.

Mr. Hafzalla holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington and is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified.

Paul Stauder serves as Chief Revenue Officer for Covanta, overseeing the commercial side of the company's Waste-to-Energy business, while also helping to develop new environmental services offerings.

From 2015 to 2022, Mr. Stauder served as President of Covanta Environmental Solutions, leading its development into a consolidated business with $325 million in annual revenue. Previously, he was senior vice president of business management with primary responsibility for all business aspects involving Covanta’s North American WTE facilities. Mr. Stauder originally joined Covanta in 1997 and has served in a number of positions in finance and regional operations.

He has more than 25 years’ experience in waste and environmental services, construction and energy generation.

Mr. Stauder earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Rhode Island and a Masters in Business from Pepperdine University.

Matthew Mulcahy was appointed executive vice president and Covanta’s head of corporate development in 2017.  In this role, Mr. Mulcahy has overall responsibility for the planning, development and execution of a wide range of business strategies and initiatives in accordance with Covanta’s global strategic corporate objectives. Mr. Mulcahy’s responsibilities range from identifying targets for potential corporate alliances, corporate acquisitions and/or divestitures, securing financial arrangements, as well as the development of greenfield projects.

Mr. Mulcahy joined Covanta in 1990 and has held numerous positions within the company, including oversight of domestic and international business development, responsibility for domestic and international M&A and management of the company’s merchant and industrial waste activities including leadership of the profiled waste group. 

Mr. Mulcahy has a long and distinguished track record in the development and implementation of renewable energy facilities in the United States, Canada and the Republic of Ireland and has been involved in almost every major acquisition undertaken by the firm since joining the company.

Mr. Mulcahy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville, TN.

Tom Kenyon serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, responsible for all aspects of Covanta’s risk management and legal functions, including support for M&A, governance, commercial, corporate functions, and litigation. He joined the company in March 2020.

Prior to Covanta, Mr, Kenyon worked at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. for 17 years, holding a variety of positions in the company's law department, culminating in his role as General Counsel, Americas. Previously,  he practiced law at Dechert LLP in Philadelphia, PA, primarily as a litigator in the firm’s antitrust group.

Mr. Kenyon graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Philosophy, and earned his law degree from the University of Michigan.

Ginny Angilello joined Covanta as senior vice president and chief human resources officer in April 2018. Ms. Angilello is responsible for all aspects of Covanta’s human resources organization, including talent acquisition and retention strategy, organizational culture initiatives, benefits and compensation, diversity and inclusion and employee engagement efforts.

Prior to joining Covanta, Ms. Angilello spent 17 years at Honeywell International, in roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as vice president, Human Resources for Performance Materials & Technologies (PMT), Integrated Supply Chain (ISC). In this position, she led global human resources in ISC for the PMT business unit comprised of approximately 10,000 employees at 90 operating sites. Her key areas of focus included manufacturing, procurement, supply planning, logistics and engineering. Prior to this position, Ms. Angilello was vice president, Global Operations for Honeywell’s HR services division; global director of Human Resources, Specialty Materials; and senior director of US and Canada HR Services Operations.

Ms. Angilello earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and a Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School. She is also Six Sigma Green Belt certified.

Howard L. Lance currently serves as non-executive chairman of the board of Summit Materials, an aggregates-based construction materials company, as non-executive chairman of the board of Change Healthcare, a leading healthcare information technology company, and as a director of New Vista, a defense and aerospace special-purpose acquisition corporation.

Mr. Lance previously served as president and chief executive officer of Maxar Technologies from 2016-2019. He served as an executive advisor to The Blackstone Group from 2012-2016. Mr. Lance served as president and CEO of Harris Corporation between 2003-2012. Previously, he served as co-president of NCR Corporation and chief operating officer of its Retail and Financial Group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lance spent 17 years at Emerson Electric Co., holding a number of senior management positions.

Mr. Lance has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University and a master’s degree in Management from Purdue University.

Sue Klug served as Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Republic Services, a leading waste management company. She was responsible for marketing to businesses and customers, communications, digital platforms, new product development and analytics.

Previously, Ms. Klug was Chief Marketing Officer for Unified Grocers, the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the western United States. She also worked in operational and marketing roles for several supermarket chains, as well as for a leading marketing firm catering to the consumer packaged goods industry.

Currently, Ms. Klug is a member of the Board of Directors of TWANG, a privately held seasoning company. She also serves on the advisory board of the University of Southern California Graduate School of Business and has been a board member for several other businesses and non-profit organizations.

Ms. Klug holds both a bachelor’s degree in Food Industry Management and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She has won numerous honors and accolades, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year award.

Elliott Laws is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell & Moring, where he is co-chair of the firm's Environment & Natural Resources Group and is a member of the Government Affairs Group. He provides strategic counseling and legal, policy and crisis management advice on environmental and energy policy issues.

In 2011 he was appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to serve as Administrative Trustee for the environmental response trust (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response or “RACER” Trust) established by the U.S. Government to clean up and repurpose for redevelopment the former properties of "Old" General Motors Corp.

Mr. Laws previously served as president of safety, health and environment for Texaco Inc. He worked as an assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, responsible for regulatory and policy development and implementation for solid and hazardous waste management. Previously, he was a Justice Department and EPA attorney and a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney.

Mr. Laws has a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and earned his law degree from Georgetown University.

Seth Myones is president of Ridge LLC, which focuses on providing interim leadership to businesses in transition and assistance in negotiating complex public/private environmental services agreements.

Mr. Myones previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Covanta from 2012 to 2015. He spent 26 years at Covanta and its predecessor company, Ogden Projects, in various leadership roles, including senior vice president of business management and president of Covanta Americas.

Mr. Myones has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University at Buffalo and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

Bob Preston is the chief executive officer of Synagro, North America’s largest biosolids management firm. An experienced business leader, Mr. Preston previously served as CEO of GSE Environmental, Davis-Standard, LLC and J.B. Poindexter, Inc.

Mr. Preston began his career at DuPont, and moved into senior operating positions at Allied-Signal, Johnson Electric and Honeywell before becoming Eastman Chemical Company’s Asia president.

Mr. Preston has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in Engineering from Rutgers University. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

Katherine Ryzhaya is the founder and chief executive officer of Marvel Power Group, an advisory and brokerage services platform for renewable natural gas and power. She previously co-founded energy storage company AMS and served as its chief commercial officer.

Ms. Ryzhaya has nearly 20 years of experience running infrastructure businesses and closing complex energy transactions. She served as interim CEO of Renovar, a Shell Digital Ventures company, and was chief commercial officer for Lightsource BP.

Ms. Ryzhaya holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of San Francisco and an MBA from Duke University.

JD Vargas is managing director of the Infrastructure Team for EQT Partners. He joined the company in January 2021.

Prior to EQT, Mr. Vargas worked at First Reserve, an energy and infrastructure private equity firm, focused on investments in utilities, transportation and logistics and other sectors. Before that, he served as an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Vargas holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the London Business School.