Executive Team
Jeff Fielkow
Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Fielkow has more than three decades of business experience, including extensive executive leadership in the packaging and recycling industries, prior to his role as CAA’s first CEO. Most recently, Jeff served as president and CEO of ID Images LLC, a leading manufacturer of converted label products, serving the food and beverage, consumer durables, health and beauty, and retail industries. Prior to this role, Jeff held multiple executive positions within Tetra Pak, Inc., one of the world’s largest food-processing and packaging companies, including chief executive officer of U.S. and Canada, chief executive officer of Vietnam, and vice president of sustainability in Southeast Asia and Oceania. In addition to his global roles at Tetra Pak, Jeff spent nearly 15 years in a variety of leadership and operational roles within the sustainability and recycling industries, including with ReCommunity, Inc., Container Recycling, LLC, and Waste Management, Inc.
Jeff has founded, co-founded, counseled, and led successful packaging recovery organizations in the United States, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, and India, and advised several government entities on recycling strategies. He has also served on boards of public and private companies, including his current board director position at TriMas Corporation and previous roles at WasteCap Resource Solutions Inc., the U.S. Carton Council, and other entities.
Kashif Ali
Interim Chief Financial Officer
Kashif is currently an executive on loan from Procter & Gamble (P&G) as the interim chief financial officer for CAA. Kashif has more than two decades of experience in the fast moving consumer goods sector. As CAA’s interim chief financial officer, he is responsible for establishing and implementing the organization’s financial management practices.
Kashif has spent over 20 years with P&G in various Finance and Accounting roles. His most recent role with P&G was senior director for North American Home Care Supply Chain Finance where he was responsible for the entire Supply Chain F&A activities for the multi-billion-dollar business unit. Over the course of his career with P&G he has worked in numerous organizations and business units and in multiple locations.
Heather Almgren
Chief Human Resources Officer
Heather has 25 years of comprehensive experience as a senior human resources leader. Heather is responsible for the CAA human resources function including organization design, recruitment & staffing, employee engagement & culture, DEI, ethics & compliance, and leadership development & training.
Prior to coming to CAA, Almgren was the senior vice president of human resources for Riverence Holdings LLC, a sustainable vertically integrated aquaculture company. She also spent nine years with a multi-national Fortune 500 natural resources company and has experience in quasi-governmental and private equity companies.
Patrick Benson
Chief Information Officer
Patrick has decades of experience and expertise in the deployment of technology to deliver business-focused optimized transformational solutions. In his role at CAA, Patrick is responsible for the development and implementation of the organization’s IT strategy and infrastructure.
Before joining CAA, Patrick spent several years as an interim CIO and COO for established and start-up companies in the CPG, Services, and Technology arenas. Prior to that, Patrick served as the IT leader across several global companies, including vice-president of Americas IT at Cadbury PLC, a British multinational confectionary company; as chief information officer of ClubCorp; and as chief information officer at Ovation brands restaurants. Patrick began his career as an Enterprise Architect and Global IT Leader at PepsiCo, progressing through a series of roles with increasing responsibility across multiple PepsiCo divisions, both domestically and globally.
Geoff Inch
Senior Vice President of Producer Services
Geoff has more than a decade of experience as a senior leader in strategy, business development, and sustainability within the plastics and recycling industries. Geoff is responsible for CAA's national producer strategy, including recruitment, reporting and services to prepare brands, retailers, and other producers for EPR compliance.
Prior to CAA, he led commercial partnerships, sustainability, and communications for GreenDot, a leading recycling solutions provider based in Europe. Prior to that, Geoff led the North American circular economy & sustainability team at Braskem, where he was instrumental in shaping the business strategy for plastics recycling, directing significant investments in recycling infrastructure, and developing a portfolio of recycled and biobased plastics. His role also encompassed legislative advocacy, helping to advance industry-wide sustainability standards and policy approaches such as EPR. Additionally, Geoff played a key role in defining Braskem's global circular economy goals and implementing the region's ESG roadmap, which included obtaining sustainability certifications, conducting product life cycle assessments, and launching community-focused social impact projects.
Jason Kelroy
General Counsel
Jason Kelroy brings 25 years of commercially-focused legal experience, including 7 years as General Counsel of a Fortune 200 publicly traded company. As CAA’s General Counsel, Kelroy is responsible for all legal, compliance and governance matters for the organization.
Prior to joining CAA, Kelroy most recently served as Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Kohl’s Corp (NYSE: KSS), a leading omnichannel retailer. Kelroy joined Kohl's in 2004, rose through the ranks and served as the company’s General Counsel from 2015 to 2023, where he led the company through numerous legal, legislative and regulatory matters. Prior to Kohl’s, Kelroy served as an associate at the Vorys law firm.
State Leadership
Juri Freeman
Executive Director, Colorado
Juri has worked for nearly 20 years in the recycling and waste diversion industry. In his role, Juri supports all aspects of CAA’s Colorado program including supporting producers, collaborating with local governments, helping communities and haulers deploy recycling services, engaging with critical stakeholders, and building capability.
Prior to joining CAA, Juri was a managing principal and resource economist for Resource Recycling Systems (RRS). While at RRS, Juri was responsible for the company growth strategy and execution, employee leadership, and company budget and financial planning. Juri provided senior level subject matter expertise for resource management, recycling, and waste diversion consulting services across North America. Before joining RRS, Juri managed the recycling program for the City and County of Denver, the state’s largest recycling system.
Kim Holmes
Executive Director, Oregon
Kim has spent over 20 years in the solid waste and recycling industry. In her role, Kim supports all aspects of CAA’s Oregon program including supporting producers, collaborating with local governments, helping communities and haulers deploy recycling services, engaging with critical stakeholders, and building capability.
Prior to joining CAA, Kim was the owner and principal consultant of 4R Sustainability, a consulting firm dedicated to working with the industry to advance recycling and sustainability goals. She has served as project manager for one of the producer responsibility programs in the state electronics recycling program. Prior to consulting, she led the development of the recycling and sustainability efforts for the Plastics Industry Association, working with the entire plastics supply chain to develop new approaches to understanding recycled materials and developing new end markets. Before that, Kim was part of the innovation team at SABIC Innovative Plastics to develop a global recycle portfolio to serve their customer’s increasing need for high-quality recycled materials.
National Board of Directors
Chair
Charlie Schwarze
Senior Director of Sustainability
Keurig Dr Pepper
Vice Chair
Neil Menezes
Packaging Sustainability Policy Manager
General Mills
Secretary
John Breedlove
Vice President Legal
Niagara Bottling, LLC
Treasurer
Jeff Bezzo
Executive Director - Plastics Sustainability PMO
SC Johnson
Kara Ruecker
Director, Public Policy
Amazon
Melissa Walden
North America Packaging Sustainability Innovation Senior Manager
Colgate-Palmolive
Abby Donovan
Director, Sustainability, Policy & Governance, Corporate Responsibility
Target
Pat Hayes
Vice President, Government Affairs
The Clorox Company
Kirsten Witt
Director, Public Affairs & Communications
The Coca-Cola Company
Jon Hansted
Senior Director, Finance & Accounting
Procter & Gamble
Stefani Millie Grant
Associate Director, External Affairs & Sustainability
Unilever United States
Alex Schenck
Director, Global Public Policy, Environment and Product Safety
Walmart
Mark Bescher
Director of Government Affairs
Mondelēz International
Kelly Smith
Vice President, Head of Institutional Affairs
Ferrero
Heidi Hairston
Director of Procurement Sustainability
The Kraft Heinz Company
Nicole Cerroni
Vice President Sustainability
L’Oréal
Cori Herbig
U.S. Public Policy Director
Mars, Incorporated
Emily Johannes
Director, Sustainability & Recycling
Nestlé, USA
Anke Boykin
Senior Director, Global Public Policy and Government Affairs
PepsiCo
Sam Harrington
Director of Packaging Sustainability, Research & Innovation
Danone North America