Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th June 2026 Issue no. 1216
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VLS Environmental Solutions’ John Magee wins top Award
John Magee, CEO of VLS Environmental Solutions - one of North America's premier providers of industrial waste management, railcar cleaning & repair, and marine services, has been named EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Gulf South Award winner.
Since joining VLS in 2020 as CEO and president, John has led a period of tremendous transformational growth, expanding the company to more than 50 locations and 1,500 employees across North America. Under his leadership, VLS has completed 12 strategic acquisitions, expanded operations into Mexico, achieved more than 200% growth and maintained what the company says is an industry-leading safety record. John continues to drive operational excellence, sustainable growth and innovation as VLS strengthens its position as a market leader in sustainable solutions.
Prior to VLS, John co-founded and served as president and CEO of Crane Worldwide Logistics, growing the company from startup to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue, with operations spanning more than 30 countries and over 2,200 employees.
"I am an entrepreneur at heart - what energises me is that constant pursuit of learning in service of building something great,” reveals John. “I've always believed you can have a grand vision and still be humble enough to know you don't have all the answers, which is why I surround myself with the smartest people I can find.
“Whether I'm founding a company from scratch, as I did with Crane Worldwide in 2008, or stepping in as a transformational leader, as I have at VLS, the focus is the same: question conventional wisdom, empower people to lead, and hold each other truly accountable.
“That spirit is what I believe has driven our growth from historic single digits to the 40%+ CAGR we've sustained since I joined - and more importantly, it's what has changed not just VLS, but the environmental services industry at large."
A recognised business leader, John was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Gulf Coast Area in the Manufacturing & Distribution category and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organisation (YPO). He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Texas, where he served on the board of the Centre for Logistics & Supply Chain Management.
Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honours business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or raised outside capital to grow their company… transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organisation to catapult its trajectory and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future. Over the years it has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries and territories globally.
Regional winners were chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
As a Gulf South award winner, John will now be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum, where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business. The National Overall Award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in May 2027.
Image - the VLS team, from left: Cade Durio, David Carter, Gabriel Villasmil, Raul Pena, John Magee, Brian Brantley, Corinna Carbone-Stephens, Rob Wheatley, Kris Terrill, Austin Winger
18th June 2026