Tom Brown
Tom Brown’s 35-year career in the waste and recycling industry began at Waste Management. Steadily rising the ladder at WM, Tom climbed to Regional President of the Western Carolinas and East Tennessee regions before joining IESI in 1997 and supervising its growth into the third largest solid waste company in North America. Tom continued to rise, becoming President and COO of Progressive Waste Solutions before his retirement. Tom also has been a dedicated servant to the industry, chairing the National Solid Wastes Management Association’s Texas Chapter chair for 10 years and served on an advisory committee for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. He was instrumental in preserving free choice for waste industry customers in Dallas, leading the industry’s fight against flow control as head of the Dallas Flow Control Task Force and then in federal court. He earned the NSWMA Special Governor’s Award in 2009 and was recognized as NSWMA’s Member of the Year in 2011 for his leadership relating to the Dallas flow control issue.