Recycling Lives Services has announced the appointment of a new Chairman to its Board.
Rob Harris has been welcomed to our business to share his expertise and support our continued, ambitious growth trajectory.
Mr Harris is an established, global leader in recycling, renewables and sustainability. He has worked in biofuels for BP, developed one of Europe’s first closed loop recycling solutions for energy storage products, and delivered a global growth strategy for a sustainable construction materials firm.
He joins following our work bolstering our positioning in the recycling sector, including launching the UK’s first chemistry specific approach to battery compliance earlier this year. Mr Harris will now guide and advise our Board as we target further substantial growth.
Adrian Murphy, Group CEO for RLS, said: “We’re thrilled to have welcomed Rob to our team – this is just the latest step in our growth ambitions for Recycling Lives Services.
“Rob’s background and skills are aligned with our commercial offering, thanks to his experience in sectors similar to ours and other growth environments. He also understands and shares our ethos of integrating sustainability and social value. We’re ready to learn from his experiences and leverage his insights, together.”
Mr Harris is an experienced Non-executive Director and Chairman. He has extensive experience working across commercial and industrial sectors both domestically and globally, including in chemicals, oils, metals, and renewables.
He said: “I’m looking forward to helping RLS’s team to deliver the success they deserve.
“I’ve real admiration for the business’s social value side. I’m all about helping people to become better versions of themselves and making a difference through business. RLS’s clear purpose – doing right by society and our planet – fares them well on both counts.
“We’re going to set some outrageous goals, bringing our staff and stakeholders along with us on this growth journey, and delivering our promises with real focus and purpose. And we will do all this safely with a goal of no harm to people or our environment.
“The opportunity for the business and our valued team is terrific.”
A chemist by trade, Rob Harris started his career with ICI before moving to BP, where he grew its joint venture with Mobil from £100m to £400m. BP also brought his first foray into sustainability, now three decades ago, working on its ethanol business. He later moved to biofuel and biochemicals businesses elsewhere, including working as Senior Vice President for Reliance Industries (India’s largest company).
More recently, he spent 7 years as CEO of Ecobat Technologies, a multi-billion dollar business which recycles batteries. Here he established Europe’s first closed loop recycling system for energy storage products and Europe’s first EV battery recycling and re-lifeing system. Mr Harris also led Accsys Technologies, which produces high performance, sustainable wood for construction, overseeing considerable organic growth within three years.