Meet Quest’s CEO & President: A Candid Convo About Sustainable Business

— Oct. 19, 2023 —

Meet Our CEO/President

Ray Hatch has served as President and CEO of Quest Resource Management Group (NASDAQ:QRHC) since February 2016. He’s a senior executive with 25 years of in-depth experience in waste management and food services industries that generated more than a billion dollars in revenue.

Quest, a national provider of waste and recycling services, uses deep expertise to build single-source, client-specific solutions to address a wide variety of waste streams and recyclables across multiple industry sectors. Quest also provides information and data that tracks and reports the environmental results of Quest’s services and provides actionable data to improve business operations.

Read our Q&A below to learn more about what makes Ray tick and how his eyes are always fixed on what’s in front of him as well as what’s on the horizon for Quest and its clients.

Q&A

Hatch: “Something that goes across the platform of our clients is living in an environment where managing and controlling costs are becoming increasingly important. It’s more than just a cost of waste programs; it’s the opportunity cost associated with spending too much time trying to adhere to regulations and standards. Businesses are having to manage something outside the scope of their primary business.

We help to alleviate them of that responsibility so they can care for the customers, make better widgets, and take market share away from their competitors. All around (investors, consumers, and industry standards) expect businesses to be more sustainable and be better stewards of their market. Those expectations continue to grow.

Our clients are not in the waste business. They’re in the ‘something else’ business that doesn’t necessarily open them up to understanding alternatives for different waste to different waste streams. For them, dedicating resources to finding new, sustainable homes for their waste streams doesn’t allow them to be productive.

That’s what we do. We’re a B2B problem solver who’s focused on the issues that bring the most value to our clients.”

“One of the reasons I took this job in 2016 was/is our business model. As an asset-light entity, we have infinite flexibility. We’re not tied to capital assets. I can make my decisions on what we do and what we want to do differently without negative economic impact. That said, evolving with the times is vital. And that shines a positive light on our company.

As regulations and technology change how you deal with these different waste streams and commodities, we can pivot almost immediately to that more advantageous situation for our clients. We can shift away from obsolete processes and technologies. We can utilize other people’s more advantageous capital assets. And the same thing happens with regulation as well.

We have expertise in-house that is focused on understanding regulatory changes and trends. And that’s one of the services we’re able to provide to clients to keep them aware of what’s happening or what’s going to be happening relative to the challenges coming at them. A good business partner looks out for each other and finds ways to benefit from the relationship mutually.

We are and will continue to look out for our clients, not only their current needs and concerns but, more importantly, those coming along in the future because that’s what they count on us to do for them. That’s where we should be in that supply chain.”

“Certainly, the environment and diversion. But it’s best to have passion about things you can control and impact instead of what you dream of. What we control and impact is helping businesses be more sustainable, more economically efficient, and grow their market share in the competitive environment.

Some studies show that companies with sustainable quality business practices typically have better economic performance as well. It’s because they’re responsible, good business people who are forward-thinking. And that applies to their economic results more so than the sustainable practice.

When you look at companies passionate about doing the right thing, it’s not just about waste. They want to do the right thing with their employees. They want to do the right things for their customers. They want to do the right things for their products. If you’re a ‘do the right thing’ person, it’s usually not exclusive to one aspect of your business. And that’s why you see a great performance.

I’m passionate about helping those companies that want to continuously improve and do the right thing to be better in their space. The impact and quality we have as a company is measured by our clients’ impact and quality, and that’s what we should be passionate about.”

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