Recycling Partnership taps new leader with diverse background

Greg Saxon brings a multi-faceted career to his new job leading The Recycling Partnership.

The Recycling Partnership is hiring an organizational outsider — one with a diverse set of experiences that include work with plastic packaging and Navy intelligence — to become the group’s new leader. Greg Saxon is succeeding Keefe Harrison as CEO of the nonprofit group that works to increase curbside recycling around the country. Harrison announced earlier this year her decision to step down after leading the organization since its inception in 2014.

“What drew me to The Recycling Partnership is its unique ability to bring together diverse stakeholders around practical solutions that strengthen recycling and advance a more circular economy,” Saxon said in a July 15 statement. “Throughout my career, I have believed that lasting change happens when organizations align around a shared purpose, and I see The Partnership as one of the nation’s most effective examples of that approach in action.” Saxon joins the group July 20, and Harrison will stay on briefly, until July 31, to help with the transition.

“He understands the complexity and urgency of this work, and he brings both the practical experience and people-centered leadership needed for this next chapter,” Harrison said about Saxon in a statement. Saxon, most recently, was chief operating officer at PedalPoint Recycling and PedalPoint LifeCycle Solutions, companies involved in information technology asset disposition and electronics recycling. Prior to that work he held positions at both Johnson & Johnson, where he was director of packaging strategic sourcing for the Americas, and BP, where he was regional head of packaging, Americas.

His work at Johnson & Johnson included sourcing bottles, caps and closures, jars and injected molded parts for brands including Johnson’s Baby, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Listerine and Tylenol, according to his LinkedIn profile. At BP, he oversaw all aspects of the packaging procurement and engineering lifecycle for the auto and industrial businesses of BP-Castrol Motor Oil, his profile states. While in the Navy during his early career, Saxon was an information warfare officer and a cryptologic officer.

“The Recycling Partnership has always been about proving what’s possible when you bring the right people to the table,” said Haley Lowry, newly appointed chair of the group’s board. “As we look at what’s next, Greg Saxon brings extensive leadership and operational experience to drive our mission forward and meet the current moment the recycling system faces.”