Waste Management, Inc. announced its board of directors has elected Tom Bené, president and CEO, Breakthru Beverage Group, LLC, as an additional, independent member of its board of directors, effective March 1, 2024. Mr. Bené, 61, has four decades of experience executing on strategic business priorities and delivering financial growth for leading public companies. Since 2021, he has served as president and CEO of Breakthru Beverage Group, where he is focused on leading the company through a period of growth and expansion by driving new capabilities and innovation.

Prior to his current role, he held several operations and business leadership roles at Sysco Corporation, including serving as president, CEO, and chairman. Before joining Sysco in 2013, Mr. Bené spent 23 years at PepsiCo in numerous roles of increasing responsibility and scale. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

Mr. Bené will serve on the Management Development and Compensation Committee of the board. His election expands the Board of Directors of WM to 10 members, nine of whom are independent directors. The Board determined that Mr. Bené is an independent director, and Mr. Bené was also appointed to the Management Development & Compensation Committee of the Board.

Mr. Bené will stand for re-election at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Director John C. Pope has reached the retirement age set forth in the Company?s Corporate Governance Guidelines; therefore, he will not stand for re-election and his term as a director of the Company will expire at the 2024 Annual Meeting. The Board intends to reduce its size to nine members effective as of the expiration of Mr. Pope?s term.