Waste Management (WM), North America's largest waste disposal service provider, does much more than just pick up trash: the company has undergone a transformation in recent years by fully embracing sustainability, breaking new ground in areas like renewable energy and converting landfill gas into fuel for natural gas-powered trucks.
Devina Rankin, a company veteran who has served as Waste Management's CFO since 2020, has played a pivotal role. “We are a financially strong organization, and we are also working on exciting things that give us great growth potential,” Rankin said.
Rankin will share his journey at WM and highlight the strategies and initiatives that led to the company's modern evolution at the CFO Leadership Council's Fall 2024 Conference in Dallas, Oct. 7-9. StrategicCFO360 interviewed Rankin last week about his years in finance at WM and how the $20 billion in revenue company puts people first.
What has kept you with Waste Management since 2002?
Waste Management is a people-centered organization. I feel respected, admired, valued, and I love the people I work with. That's all you can hope for. This industry has a huge need for people. About seven years ago, we refreshed our commitments and values. The first commitment was to put people first, because by putting people first, we can take care of all our other stakeholders. The second commitment is to succeed with integrity. As a CFO, it makes my job much easier and helps me sleep at night knowing that this organization is committed to succeeding with integrity.
Is there any way in which your approach or your personality as CFO aligns well with WM’s culture?
Humility is something I take pride in and is important when I think about what kind of company WM is and what we do. Most people have the privilege of not giving much thought to their waste management company. When you put your trash out on the side of the road, you expect it to be picked up every week. When you decide to do something that is often overlooked, it demands humility. That resonates with me; the men and women who serve our customers on the front lines. [do their job] In most cases, you won't get a thank you from your customers.
I'm also grit and hardworking. I grew up in a military family and learned at a young age the commitment to service — the commitment to being part of something bigger than yourself, and at the heart of it all is service.
Over the past few years, turnover among CFOs has been very high, and it is becoming increasingly rare for a CFO to be promoted from the rank and file. Do you think turnover in the CFO's office is a detriment to a company?
A big part of a CFO's job is connecting people, process and data and leveraging it all to create value. When you come from the outside, it takes some time to understand how to connect all the disparate parts of a large organization. I came into the CFO role in a good position because I “grew up” at WM and have had relationships across the business for over 20 years. It's best practice for the CFO role to be self-developing and promote from within.
But I certainly understand and appreciate when a company needs a fresh perspective. CFOs can often provide that because they create the management practices and disciplines within the organization that help them operate more efficiently. And if, for whatever reason, you can't create that naturally with your existing talent, then I think it's time to look outside the organization. But I do think the revolving door at the CFO seat needs to be alleviated.
Waste Management has invested in front-line automation — robots to improve safety at recycling facilities, remote-controlled heavy machinery, dynamic routing capabilities, computers and cameras in trucks to provide customers with information about waste streams — but does this benefit the workers whose jobs involve interacting with that technology? Does it lead to improved worker retention?
We're trying to use technology to help fill jobs where it's hard to build a talent pipeline and where there's high turnover. Think about sorting lines at recycling facilities or call center agents. Those are two jobs where the turnover is incredibly high. We're using technology to help fill jobs where it's hard to build a talent pipeline and where there's high turnover. [fewer workers] In these roles, we've taken advantage of natural turnover to move technology forward without disrupting our workforce. The second takeaway is that with a modern toolkit, people feel empowered to do their jobs well. Team members feel in a better position to fulfill their core responsibilities, and that's a win.
Waste Management has implemented a number of innovative sustainability initiatives. Last year, the company partnered with Dow on a residential recycling program. What are you hoping to achieve by partnering with upstream commodity providers?
We partner with our customers in many ways, but partnering with Dow is not unique. We need to understand the problem they are trying to solve and what we can do to be part of the solution. Working with Dow to address the impact of consuming single-use and under-recycled plastics is something we can all do. There is a lot of plastic being produced that is never recycled. We are committed to creating a circular economy across our markets, [the] Systems and processes that support your efforts.
You are a member of KeyBank's board of directors.Number It's the largest bank in the U.S. What did you learn from that?
I didn't jump into the board. I became more interested in board calls once I felt I had a good understanding of the CFO role at WM. I hope that the KeyBank board members feel they get as much value from me as they get from me. It should be a mutually beneficial relationship. In return, I get a glimpse into the culture, systems, processes and decision-making of other executives. I can bring that back to my experience at WM and leverage it to be an even better executive. I now know how hard it is for executives to understand the business because they don't experience it on a day-to-day basis. I am always grateful for board recruitment. [WM’s] board, but even more so now.
What did you learn about the banking industry?
The regulatory environment is fundamentally different than our industry. Another difference is the talent model. This conversation started with a discussion about why I've been with this company for so long and what keeps me here. We pride ourselves on long tenure within the industry, but we also enjoy the luxury of bringing in team members from outside the industry. It seems like once you get in banking, you stay in banking. A lot of talent from other industries doesn't end up there. I'm not convinced that's the right thing to do, because one of the things that organizations benefit from is understanding how other industries work. Financial institutions can benefit a lot by considering bringing in talent from other industries.
