WasteCo COO Stephen Towsen Leaves as Leadership Changes Continue

WasteCo Group Limited Chief Operating Officer Stephen Towsen has left the role with effect from October 4, about ten months after the NZX-listed waste company announced his appointment. WasteCo said Towsen resigned to take a new position based exclusively in New Zealand’s North Island, but it did not identify his next employer or describe the new role.

The departure comes during a wider reset of WasteCo’s leadership. Brian Cohalan joined as chief executive on August 31, replacing Roger Gower in the interim CEO role, while the company has also changed its chair and added regional managers as it works through an operational and financial turnaround.

WasteCo disclosed Towsen’s planned departure in an August executive update filed with NZX. The same update announced Cohalan’s appointment and new regional leadership for Southland and Otago and for Canterbury and Tasman. WasteCo did not name a successor to Towsen in that announcement.

Towsen was hired to strengthen day-to-day operations

WasteCo announced Towsen as COO on December 2, 2025, when the company was trying to tighten operating discipline across a business that had expanded through acquisitions. At the time, WasteCo said he brought more than 15 years of waste and recycling experience in New Zealand and South Africa, including senior roles at Green Gorilla, Waste Management New Zealand and EnviroWaste.

The company framed the COO job around practical operating issues. It highlighted Towsen’s experience in large-fleet management, logistics planning, procurement, workforce leadership and operational efficiency, and said it wanted stronger fleet management, more consistent service delivery and better execution across regional operations.

In its fiscal 2026 results, WasteCo cited Towsen’s appointment as one of the steps taken to strengthen leadership while the group simplified operations, improved controls and worked to lift performance across its national network. The role was therefore closely connected to the broader operating reset rather than being a narrow administrative post.

Board, CEO and regional leadership have also changed

Towsen’s exit follows several other changes at the top of WasteCo. In June, Roger Gower said he would step down as chair and as a director effective July 17. Sean Joyce took over as chair on that date, while Gower remained interim chief executive to provide continuity during the search for a permanent CEO.

The search ended with the appointment of Brian Cohalan. He formally joined on August 31 with 17 years of waste-industry experience that included senior positions at Sita Environmental Solutions, a Sita joint venture and Cleanaway in Australia. His New Zealand background included leadership roles at Tyco NZ and Glidepath, followed by an Asia-Pacific role with Alstef Group.

Gower was due to retire from the interim CEO position at the end of August once Cohalan arrived, although WasteCo said he would remain available to help with the handover and other transition work. The August leadership announcement also named Aaron Meyer as regional manager for Southland and Otago and Ian Gear as regional manager for Canterbury and Tasman, putting more operating responsibility into regional roles at the same time the chief executive position changed hands.

Towsen’s departure therefore extends a sequence of management changes already under way rather than starting a new restructuring by itself. WasteCo has not said that his resignation resulted from the arrival of the new CEO, and the company’s announcement linked his exit to a new North Island-based job.

The leadership reset is unfolding during a difficult turnaround

The management changes matter because WasteCo entered fiscal 2027 after a year in which revenue and EBITDA increased but losses also widened. For the year ended March 31, 2026, the company reported revenue of NZ$70.2 million, up from NZ$56.4 million, and EBITDA of NZ$5.85 million, compared with NZ$4.64 million a year earlier. Its net loss widened to NZ$12.35 million from NZ$9.9 million.

According to the fiscal 2026 results release, most of the revenue growth came from acquisitions rather than stronger underlying performance. Management also pointed to high debt, financing costs, rising fleet expenses, low asset utilisation, duplicated overheads and restructuring costs as pressures on the business. The company said it had spent NZ$1.75 million on an overhaul of health and safety management while introducing clearer reporting lines, tighter operational controls and improved systems.

The group has been trying to simplify its structure and improve consistency across its network while still preparing for new work. More than 45% of revenue was secured through long-term contracts across councils, healthcare, infrastructure and commercial customers, according to the May results release, making operating discipline important to the performance of a sizeable contracted revenue base. In its May results release, the company said it was preparing to begin a nine-year Ashburton District Council solid-waste contract with a stated value of NZ$40 million in October 2026. That timing puts the start of a major council contract in the same month Towsen’s resignation takes effect.

Operational execution now sits with a reshaped senior team. Cohalan has taken over as chief executive, Joyce is chair, and new regional managers have been appointed in parts of the South Island. With Towsen no longer serving as COO and no replacement identified in the August announcement, WasteCo still has an open management decision as it begins the Ashburton contract and continues the turnaround.