CIWM has announced the departure of CEO Dr Colin Church less than two years since he assumed the role at the institution in 2016.

In an announcement today (25 July), CIWM stated that Dr Church would be stepping down in September in order to take on a new chief executive position.

To ensure a smooth transition, Dr Church will be working with senior management and CIWM Trustees to complete a CIWM Action Plan to design a refreshed structure. Sarah Poulter, current Group Director of Membership and Funding, will take on the position of interim CEO from 1 October.

Commenting on Dr Church’s departure, Professor Margaret Bates, Chair of CIWM Executive Committee, said: “CIWM would like to thank Colin for so ably steering CIWM through a period of change and refocus, as a result of which the Institution is in the process of modernising its structure to be more dynamic and responsive, refreshing and improving its membership offer, and prioritising its work to reflect the needs of today’s resource and waste sector. We wish Colin well in his new role and we look forward to continuing the work he has initiated to ensure that CIWM is fit for the future.”

Dr Church, previously a senior waste official at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has overseen significant restructuring during his time at the helm of CIWM after taking over from Steve Lee in October 2016, while he has worked closely with Head of Policy and Communications Pat Jennings to coordinate CIWM’s contributions to the government’s upcoming Waste and Resources Strategy.

Bates, as part of the Executive Committee whose role it is to ensure that CIWM is run properly and in the interests of its members, elaborated on the the reasoning behind the restructuring at CIWM carried out under Dr Church, saying: “The waste and resources sector has changed amazingly in the last few years and CIWM needed to change to reflect that change. We are trying to evolve and become the dynamic institution that responds to such an important part of our daily lives now and to not only deliver what our members want from us but also to ensure we have the right level of influence to make sure that our members’ voices are heard through all levels of government.”

Responding to comments in the press regarding the financial stability of CIWM, Bates added: "CIWM has reserves and we're not in any immediate financial danger, but of course things could always be better."

Though CIWM has yet to confirm Dr Church's next destination, industry aficionado Paul Vanston, CEO of the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), took to Twitter to congratulate Dr Church on his "new CEO role" with the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining.