Rumpke COO Named Entrepreneur of the Year
CINCINNATI, Ohio—July 1, 2013—William (Bill) Rumpke Jr., chief operating officer at Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year for South Central Ohio and Kentucky at an awards reception at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati last week.
“The award recognizes outstanding high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. The finalists and winners were selected by an independent panel of judges,” according to program organizers.
Bill will now compete at the national level. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2013.
The 27-year-old Entrepreneur Of The Year program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company and Arthur M. Blank of AMB Group, LLC (The Home Depot, Atlanta Falcons).
Bill began his career at Rumpke in 1978, working as a driver and general laborer before founding Rumpke’s central Ohio hauling market in 1988.
During his time in central Ohio, Bill built the market to include a landfill, transfer station and recycling centers in Columbus and Circleville. Today, those facilities support the thriving waste collection operation that services hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers throughout central, northern and southeast Ohio.
On July 1, 2002, Bill accepted a promotion to become Rumpke’s COO. During his tenure, Rumpke has experienced unprecedented growth in market share and size. In recent years, the company has introduced a consulting division called The William-Thomas Group, and has completed more than 30 acquisitions. In 2009, the firm secured its largest acquisition in company history adding employees, a hauling operation, transfer stations, recycling operation, landfill and residential and commercial customers in the Mansfield and Cleveland, Ohio areas.
Under Bill’s direction, the firm has expanded recycling services to include additional buy-back centers and tire and e-waste recycling. Bill and his Rumpke team also have worked to expand five of the nine landfills the company owns or operates. At two of the landfills, Rumpke has partnered with energy companies to convert landfill gas into natural gas or electricity. In recent years, the firm has invested more than $50 million in recycling technology further solidifying Rumpke’s status as Ohio’s recycling leader. Recycling efforts have also included construction and a multi-million dollar renovation of a unique glass recycling facility in Dayton, Ohio. Rumpke has also built a compressed natural gas fueling station and truck fleet. The natural gas is recovered directly from Rumpke’s largest landfill in Colerain Township, Ohio.
As a prominent leader of the third largest privately owned waste hauler in the United States, Bill has directed his team of nearly 3,000 employees toward success by implementing programs to enhance employee development, upgrade customer service, increase community involvement and expand safety awareness. His team’s efforts have earned Rumpke several honors including three Better Business Bureau awards for business ethics and integrity, the University of Cincinnati Goering Center Family Business of the Year Award, and several recycling Supplier of the Year awards. In 2010, Bill was honored with an Association for Corporate Growth Deal Maker Award.
In recent years, the company also has secured recognition for green business practices, safety, communications and business growth.
Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in general business from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is a member of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), and a board member of National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA). Bill and his wife reside in Cincinnati and have three children.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
In South Central Ohio & Kentucky, local sponsors include: Frost Brown Todd, PNC Bank, Cincytech, Topic Design, Cincinnati Business Courier, Business First Columbus & Business First Louisville.
About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award recognizes the significant contributions of entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.