JOHN JENNINGS

FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN, WASTE PRO USA, LONGWOOD

Waste Pro USA, founded in 2001, is a privately owned waste collection, recycling, processing and disposal company operating in the Southeast. The company has more than 4,000 employees and serves more than 2 million residential customers and 40,000 commercial clients. Jennings founded Jennings Environmental Services, which became the largest privately owned waste disposal company in Central Florida. It merged with USA Waste Services in 1996. In 2020, Jennings’ son Sean succeeded him as CEO.

EDUCATION: St. John’s University (BS, MBA)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: We need to commit resources and provide incentives that empower owners to think about what sustainability means in their operations.

POSITIVE INFLUENCE: My father, Michael Jennings, was an immigrant from Ireland who landed in Long Island, N.Y., as a sanitation collector. His work ethic and belief in the American dream were instilled in me at an early age.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA
“Investing in people never goes to waste.”