The president of Sims Lifecycle Services is retiring and Rob Thompson has been promoted to president of Global Sims Metal.
By Brian Taylor, Senior Editor
Australia-based Sims Ltd., which has global metal electronics recycling operations, has announced several changes to its executive staff involving each of its global business units: Sims Metal and Sims Lifecycle Services (SLS).
The publicly traded company says the leadership changes reflect “the continued evolution of the company and its businesses [and] support planned leadership succession, greater alignment across Sims’ global metal platform, the increasing strategic importance of technology and digital capability, and the continued development of SLS as an important growth platform for the company.”
On the Sims Metal side, John Glyde has started a transition toward retirement following a 42-year career with Sims, says the firm.
At the start of this month, Glyde stepped aside from his role as managing director of the Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Metal business unit and stepped down from being a member of the Sims Executive Leadership Team.
Glyde will remain with Sims through mid-2027, reporting directly to Sims CEO and Managing Director Stephen Mikkelsen. In his new role, Glyde will focus in part on the development of the Sims Pinkenba, Australia site, which will supply ferrous scrap to an electric furnace (EAF) steel mill being built one mile away.
As part of a succession process in the Sims Metal business unit, industry veteran Rob Thompson, currently president of Sims North America Metal, has been appointed president of Global Sims Metal, effective this July 1.
Thompson has been a member of the Sims executive leadership team since 2022. In his expanded role, Thompson will be responsible for all Sims’ global metal operations, says the firm.
In the SLS business unit, which focuses on IT asset disposition (ITAD) and electronics recycling services, Ingrid Sinclair is stepping down from her role as president.
Sinclair has been with Sims for nearly 20 years, following the Sims purchase of the former Noranda Recycling in 2007. During her tenure with Sims, she has held several positions with SLS and its predecessor business unit Sims Recycling Solutions, including general manager and vice president.
During her tenure, SLS has expanded its role in supporting the global data center ecosystem, including hyperscale cloud infrastructure, and has helped SLS become an increasingly important part of Sims’ portfolio, says the company.
Sims says a search process has to identify Sinclair’s successor.
In a third personnel development at the global company, Jeff Wysocki has been hired as group chief technology officer (CTO) at Sims Ltd., effective this May 1.
Wysocki joins Sims from Florida-based fertilizer and potash firm The Mosaic Company, where most recently he served as its global chief information officer and digital transformation leader.
Sims describes Wysocki as bringing with him more than 30 years of experience spanning technology, digital transformation, cybersecurity, data and analytics, artificial intelligence and enterprise systems management in several industry sectors.
“The appointment reflects the increasing strategic importance of technology, digital capability and data-driven decision making across Sims’ operations and growth initiatives,” states Sims.
In the CTO role, Wysocki becomes a member of the Sims executive leadership team and will be responsible for advancing the company’s technology strategy, digital capabilities and enterprise systems roadmap.
Regarding the series of personnel announcements, Mikkelsen remarks, “We thank John and Ingrid for their significant contributions to Sims and welcome Rob and Jeff to their new roles. These appointments and transitions position the company well to continue executing its strategic priorities and pursuing future growth opportunities.”
Founded in Australia in 1917, Sims now has approximately 3,900 employees and provides metal and electronics recycling services globally from more than 150 facilities in 13 countries.