A junk removal CEO sets the plan for a hauling company with many trucks and branches, decides where to add trucks, markets or acquisitions, and leads the executives who run them. The CEO also owns the risks that can sink the brand, such as a load dumped in the wrong place.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, waste management companies · BLS, May 2025
Lead the strategic vision and overall direction of a dynamic junk removal company while overseeing executive operations and growth initiatives. Drive revenue expansion to achieve $20M+ in annual sales by creating innovative business strategies and executive partnerships. Ensure the company’s financial stability and nurture a positive, high-performance organizational culture.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan focused on sustainable growth and market leadership.
Lead the executive team by setting clear goals and fostering accountability and innovation.
Secure and cultivate critical partnerships that can drive business expansion and operational excellence.
Oversee financial performance, ensuring robust fiscal health and adherence to budgetary objectives.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily executive meetings to review performance, set priorities, and address operational challenges.
Analyze financial reports and market data to adjust strategies and tactics as necessary.
Engage with potential partners and key stakeholders to explore new business opportunities.
Represent the company in industry forums, networking events, and community engagements.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Annual revenue growth: Achieve $20M+ in annual revenue.
Executive team performance: Maintain a team performance satisfaction rate of >90%.
Partnership acquisition: Secure at least 3 new strategic partnerships annually.
Financial health: Improve net profit margins by a minimum of 10% year-over-year.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of executive-level leadership experience.
Strong strategic planning, financial analysis, and operational management skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities, with a proven track record in leading high-performance teams.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in the home services or waste management industry.
Demonstrated success in scaling business operations beyond $20M in annual revenue.
Experience in navigating complex regulatory environments and compliance issues.
Familiarity with market dynamics and customer acquisition strategies in a competitive industry.
7. Physical Requirements
Primarily sedentary with occasional travel required to inspect operational sites.
Ability to work in a professional office environment with occasional visits to external facilities.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM, with flexibility during peak business periods.
Occasional travel for industry events, partnership meetings, or customer engagements.
On-call availability for urgent strategic decisions or crisis management is required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $250,000 USD per annum, based on experience and performance.
Performance-based bonus structure tied to achieving key revenue and growth targets.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401(k) plan with company matching and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company fosters a results-driven and collaborative environment where innovation and excellence are celebrated.
We believe in empowering our team members to develop professionally while contributing to groundbreaking business growth.
Our culture is built on integrity, continuous improvement, and a strong commitment to customer satisfaction and community engagement.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Any CEO sets direction and leads the top team. In junk removal, the hard calls are about where the loads go, what the company owns, and how it grows next to franchise brands.
Every load has to end at a legal site
Your name is on every truck, so one crew that dumps a load to skip a gate fee can become the story about your company. In West Virginia, for example, dumping any amount of litter that was collected for commercial purposes is a misdemeanor, with a fine of 2,500 to 25,000 dollars, up to a year in jail, or both. Make legal disposal a firing rule and back the managers who enforce it. Source: West Virginia Code §22-15A-4: Unlawful disposal of litter; penalties.
Your own sorting yard can need a state permit
Running your own transfer or sorting yard can cut gate fees and let crews pull more items for donation and recycling. It also brings permits. Vermont, for example, bars anyone from building, substantially altering or operating a solid waste management facility without state certification. Before you sign a lease or buy land, ask the state whether your yard counts and how long approval takes. Source: Vermont Statutes, 10 V.S.A. § 6605: Solid waste management facility certification.
Franchise brands set the pace
National franchise brands compete in many junk removal markets with central call centers and shared ad budgets. The CEO decides where an independent company wins, such as speed, commercial accounts or local reputation, or whether to franchise its own brand. Selling franchises brings the FTC Franchise Rule: you hand each buyer your current disclosure document, then wait 14 or more calendar days before they sign a binding agreement or pay anything for the franchise. Source: eCFR: 16 CFR 436.2, Obligation to furnish documents (FTC Franchise Rule).
Trucks, markets or a buyout
Each year the CEO picks where the next round of capital goes. Another truck makes sense where a branch books out days ahead. A new market needs a yard, disposal sites, donation partners and a general manager. Buying a local hauler can bring trucks, crews and repeat accounts at once, but only if its records hold up. Compare all three on the same payback math before you choose.
How much junk removal chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for junk removal chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for waste management companies earned a median of $172,470 a year ($82.92 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 270 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for waste management companies.
Base salary, with annual incentive pay linked to revenue and growth targets. Some owners also offer profit sharing or equity to an outside CEO, so say early if that is on the table.
Waste management companies
$172,470$172,470 median Middle half $82,910–$320,060 10th–90th $70,200–$564,650
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Waste management companies
$70,200
$82,910
$172,470
$320,060
$564,650
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for chief executives at waste collection companies on their own, so these figures cover waste management companies. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run a multi-branch service business with its own trucks or field crews
Can read a P&L by branch and a cash forecast unaided
Has hired and coached a COO, a CFO or a group of general managers
Holds the line on safety and legal disposal, even when it costs money
Can win over owners, lenders or a board with a clear plan
Teach these on the job
Disposal, recycling and donation options in each market
Truckload pricing and the jobs that don't fit it
Your booking and field service systems
State and local hauling rules where you operate
Which franchise and independent brands compete in each market
Most of this job happens in reports, not tools: branch P&Ls from the accounting system, job and revenue reports from the booking software, and the weekly dashboard the data analyst builds. In the interview, ask which reports they built or asked for at their last company, and what they changed because of them.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Responding to cost shocks
Your main transfer station announces a big rate increase next quarter. What do you do?
A strong answer: Models the margin hit, then weighs price changes, heavy-material surcharges, more donation and recycling, other facilities and routing. Tells managers the plan before it hits.
Behavioral · Removing senior leaders
Tell me about the hardest decision you made to remove a senior leader. How did you decide, and what did you learn?
A strong answer: Describes clear criteria, timely action, a respectful exit and what they changed in how they hire.
Treat the template's figures as samples. Base yours on last year's results, your markets and your debt, and settle them with the owners or board before the year starts.
Annual revenue growth
Measure revenue change from the prior year, company-wide and branch by branch, and split residential from commercial work so one big account can't hide a slowdown.
Executive team performance
Ask the board and each direct report the same short set of questions on a fixed schedule, and weigh the answers against whether each executive hit their own goals.
Partnership acquisition
Count signed agreements that change volume or cost for a year or more, such as a disposal contract, a donation partner or a national account. Leave out one-time referral deals.
Financial health
Track net profit margin by quarter from reviewed financial statements, and check it against cash on hand and debt so gains don't come from skipped truck repairs or thin staffing.
What counts as a strategic partnership for a junk removal CEO?
One that changes your volume or your costs for years, not weeks. Examples are a long-term rate with a transfer station, a charity that can take donations from every branch, a recycler for mattresses or electronics, a national property management or relocation account, or a smaller hauler you plan to buy. One-off referral deals with a realtor or a single building belong to business development.
How much does a junk removal chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for waste management companies earned a median of $172,470 a year ($82.92 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $82,910 and $320,060 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a CEO check before buying another junk hauling company?
Match a sample of its jobs to disposal receipts to see where the loads really went. Check hauler licenses and permits in every city it serves, plus truck titles, inspection records and loans. Ask for open injury, crash and property damage claims. Read its reviews over several years, and find out how much work comes through the owner's personal ties, since those customers may leave with the owner.
What should a junk removal CEO do the day a crew is caught dumping?
Act that day. Call your lawyer, offer local officials a prompt cleanup, then have a crew take the load to a permitted site and keep the receipt. Pull the GPS and job records to see if it happened before. Then apply your written discipline policy and tell every branch what happened and what changes now.
How can I tell a strong junk removal CEO candidate from a weak one?
Have them take you through a business they grew or fixed, using its numbers: trucks, revenue per truck, disposal cost and crew turnover. Ask about a time they turned down profitable work for safety or legal reasons. Then share your recent results and ask where they would put the next truck, and why.
