MEET THE TEAM BEHIND THE RESULTS
OUR TEAM
Jeff Pitcel - Founder
Most waste industry consultants come at your operation from one direction. Jeff comes at it from two.
Jeff started his career as an accountant — someone who lived inside balance sheets and financial statements. But he quickly realized that numbers don't tell the whole story. The real story lives in the yard, in the shop, and on the route. That realization sent him on a 22-year journey into the operational heart of the waste industry, where he built one of the most uncommon profiles in the business: a waste operations expert who never stopped thinking like a CFO.
That career included a role as a change agent at Republic Services, where Jeff used a McKinsey-designed methodology to drive measurable fleet and operational improvements at scale. What he learned there shaped everything he does today — that sustainable cost reduction in a waste operation comes from three things: disciplined preventive maintenance, KPIs that are directly tied to financial outcomes, and leaders who understand both.
As a certified business and executive coach, Jeff also works with waste company owners and leadership teams on the human side of operational performance. Systems matter — but so do the people running them. Helping leaders align their goals, make better decisions under pressure, and build teams that execute is just as important as any PM program he implements.
Outside of his work in the waste industry, Jeff serves on the Board of Directors for Gilda's Club of Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to providing free cancer support for patients, families, and friends across the state.
If you can read a balance sheet, you already know where the pain is. Jeff can help you fix it
John Theis - Senior Fleet Analyst and Lead Trainer
John Theis has spent more than three decades doing the work that most consultants only read about.
An ASE Master Truck Technician certified in T1–T8 and E1–E3 since 1984, John built his career from the ground up — starting with hands-on technical work and advancing through fleet maintenance leadership roles that ultimately put him in charge of multi-state operations with a $5 million budget and 30+ personnel at Republic Services.
As Business Unit Maintenance Manager, John oversaw the seamless integration of new corporate acquisitions — work that required equal parts technical rigor, operational discipline, and leadership under pressure. As Area Maintenance Manager, he led the rollout of Republic’s One Fleet Program across three states, improving productivity, safety, and fleet uptime at scale. In 2018, Republic Services recognized his contributions with their Fleet Leader of the Year Award.
John’s expertise spans fleet optimization, technician training and mentoring, budget development, vendor negotiation, inventory control, safety compliance, equipment specification, and acquisition transition planning — giving him one of the most complete fleet management profiles in the waste industry.
Beyond his industry work, John has served his community as an elected Township Supervisor since 2009 and has given back to the next generation of technicians as an advisory board member at multiple technical colleges, including establishing a memorial scholarship fund at Dakota County College.
At Waste Fleet & Operations, John brings that rare combination of certified technical expertise and large-scale operational leadership directly to client engagements — helping waste haulers build fleets and maintenance programs that perform reliably and cost-effectively for the long term.
Bob Bulthuis - Senior Fleet Analyst
When Bob Bulthuis says truck breakdowns are not a cost of doing business, he speaks from four decades of proof.
Bob’s career in the waste and recycling industry began in 1985, starting on the shop floor as a technician and working his way up through every level of fleet maintenance leadership. Over 30 years at Republic Services, he rose from Shop Supervisor to Fleet Manager of one of the largest fleets in the Chicago area — overseeing 200+ Class 8 hauling units and managing full P&L and inventory responsibilities.
From there, Bob took on broader regional roles including Regional Fleet Manager, Regional Change Agent, and Durability Agent — roles that put him at the center of Republic’s effort to drive fleet reliability and cost control at scale. He ended his Republic career as Area Fleet Manager in the Midwest, responsible for fleet maintenance across 27 shops, including safety oversight, quality repair standards, inventory management, KPI durability tracking, fleet right-sizing, new truck specifications, and truck disposal.
Bob has also been directly involved in multiple acquisitions, leading due diligence assessments and fleet and facility standardization work — giving him firsthand experience with exactly what waste companies need to evaluate before and after a deal closes.
At Waste Fleet & Operations, Bob brings that depth of hands-on experience directly to clients — working side by side with local teams to identify opportunities for improvement and build the maintenance discipline that makes fleet reliability sustainable.