Enva, a recycling and resource recovery business, has appointed James Priestley as Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Tom Walsh who, after many successful years growing the Enva business, has decided to step down as part of the recent acquisition of Enva by I Squared Capital.

Priestley joins the business from Renewi, a leading waste-to-product business, where he was Managing Director of the company’s Specialities Division which includes businesses in the UK and Europe. A qualified chemical engineer, Priestley’s experience includes senior management roles at Ford, British Airways and Tesco.

Chair of Enva, Jonson Cox, said of the appointment: “On behalf of the Board and our investor I Squared Capital, I am delighted to welcome James to Enva. He brings a wealth of experience from within the industry and in leading and managing high-performing teams. I believe he will make a positive impact on our commercial, safety and environmental performance and will lead the continued growth of the company over the coming years. I am very much looking forward to working with him.”

Priestley commented: “I am excited to be joining Enva for the next stage in its journey. Enva and the wider resource recovery sector are vital to the continued development of the circular economy, a field in which I have been running businesses for the last seven years. I look forward to working with the Enva team and all our stakeholders to continue the growth and development of the business at this exciting time.”

As part of a wider reorganisation aligned to Enva’s strategic planning to grow its business, Roger McDermott has also been appointed COO of Enva’s Specialist division.