Averda, the Dubai-headquartered end-to-end waste management, treatment and recycling company, has announced the appointment of Samer Kamal as the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. 

According to the statement, this new C-Suite position has been created to accelerate Averda’s ‘Renew24’ corporate strategy, which sees the company focus even further on sustainability and circularity, with the goal of reducing waste to landfill, deriving secondary value from collected waste and helping companies and governments with their net-zero targets.  

According to the statement, Samer holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto in Pharmacology & Toxicology. He is well-respected in the waste management industry and is an established regional thought leader on the future of sustainability in business. Samer brings to Averda a wealth of relevant experience, having founded Bee’ah in 2006 before spending five years asits Managing Director.  Samer has also worked on numerous other sustainable ventures across North America, the Middle East and Africa over the past 20 years. He has been an investor and advisor to several environmental start-ups and private equity funds, supporting waste strategy and sustainability initiatives, as well as developing several waste and wastewater treatment facilities – most recently a PET recycling venture in Abu Dhabi with Veolia Middle East.

Samer Kamal commented: “I am very pleased to be joining the Averda team. It’s a pivotal moment for the industry and the company as we navigate the changing role of the waste sector in light of global governmental and corporate climate commitments, shifting consumer expectations, and the clear need for climate action in the emerging markets in which Averda operates.”

Malek Sukkar, CEO, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Samer to Averda, and to our senior leadership team. Samer’s experience and approach make him an excellent choice to drive our transformation towards more sustainable products and technologies, and to support our customers with innovative sustainable initiatives which will have a positive and lasting impact on the environment. Samer will lead on bringing sustainable and impact thinking to the forefront of our corporate culture.”