Tervita Corporation announced the appointment of Chris Synek as its first chief operating officer, among other changes to the executive team. Synek joins Tervita from Republic Services Incorporated, where he was most recently executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. Synek will oversee day-to-day operations and sales at Tervita.

Synek joins Tervita January 20, 2014 and will be based out of the United States. At the same time, both Mark Pytosh, chief financial officer, and Garry A. Smith, president of the Waste Processing division, have decided for personal and family reasons to leave Tervita. Both Pytosh and Smith will work closely with their replacements over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

Gary Morris, Tervita's executive vice president of corporate development, has been appointed as interim chief financial officer, effective January 20, 2013. Morris has previously served as CFO of Halliburton. Morris will oversee the Finance and Business Development departments and will continue to be based out of Tervita's Houston office.

Synek will also serve as interim president of Waste Processing until a permanent replacement is appointed. Synek will have accountability for all of Tervita's business units - Waste Processing, Waste Management, Production Services, Environmental Services and Metals Recycling - as well as the Sales function. The presidents of these divisions and the EVP of Sales will now report to Synek.