After 43 years of hard work at Clean Waters, long-time Chief Executive Officer Alan McKim has stepped away from his role. He is now giving up control of his 20,000-person company to his two deputies, Eric Gerstenberg, the former chief operating officer, and Mike Battles, the former chief financial officer. Both executives will now become co-CEOs in Norwell.

Although McKim is no longer steering the company, he is staying on and helping in different ways. He is becoming the Chief Technology Officer and will serve as the Executive Chairman. McKim also remains one of the largest shareholders at the company, with over 3 million shares that are worth around 450 million dollars. However, he says that what he is looking forward to most is spending more time with his 11 grandchildren. 

Clean Waters is best known for its work in disaster relief, having contributed to the effort following 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. McKim founded the company with only $350 in the 1980s and began acquiring his machinery through a series of bankruptcies. With his good fortune, McKim has donated heavily to Northeastern University, which has named the business school after him, and has starred in the CBS show “Undercover Boss.”