Heartland names new CEO Mauricio Vargas to drive waste reduction and upcycling infrastructure build out
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.—Monday, April 7, 2025—Heartland, an industry-recognized, end-to-end waste solutions provider that has delivered waste reduction and waste conversion solutions since 2008, has named Mauricio “Mo” Vargas as President and CEO. He succeeds Christopher Beaufait, a board member since 2017 who has served as President and CEO for the last two years.
A seasoned CEO who builds teams that bring transformative technologies to market, Vargas joins Heartland from BayoTech, a global leader in hydrogen production and distribution solutions, where he served as President and CEO for more than five years. Over the course of his tenure, he redefined the strategy of the company from a pre-revenue and technology focus to an infrastructure-focused company selling hydrogen equipment and molecules to industry leaders such as Shell, Linde, Air Liquide, PG&E, and more than 50 different customers. He raised over $180MM in growth equity capital; acquired and integrated a high-pressure transport and storage company; and built a strong development pipeline of over a dozen projects culminating in the construction of the St. Louis Hydrogen hub and successful CEQA permitting of the Port of Stockton, California Hydrogen hub. His Fortune 500 experience includes senior executive leadership roles at GE, Siemens, AES and Lockheed Martin. In addition, he has led four early-stage technology companies including BayoTech.
“Mo is a dynamic leader with substantial expertise in commercialization of gasification and waste to energy technologies, and a long and successful track record of accelerating growth of emerging technologies,” said Robert Cawthorn, Chairman of the Board of Heartland. “As environmental concerns, litigation and state-led actions drive demand for Heartland’s cutting-edge technologies, his background and hands-on leadership style will be invaluable in driving our business forward.”
He added, “Chris was the right leader for the company over the past two years and has helped prepare Heartland for its next phase. We are pleased to welcome a new CEO with the right experience as HelioStorm™ becomes the company’s growth engine.”
“Heartland leads with world-class solutions that are not only cost-competitive, but also superior in addressing sustainability, regulatory compliance and resource efficiency,” said Vargas. “I am excited to continue to deploy our waste reducing Heartland Concentrator™, which assures PFAS separation, and bring to market HelioStorm™ technology which has the power to divert waste from landfills and farm lands, upcycle it into high-value clean energy products such as renewable fuels, and provide assured PFAS destruction in a multitude of feedstocks including biosolids. I very much look forward to working with this talented team to make this circular economy a reality for all, minimizing environmental impact on industries and communities alike.”
About Heartland
With its proven, reliable, cost-effective and end-to-end solutions, Heartland mitigates many of the most challenging environmental issues of our time. It converts waste into clean energy through upcycling and eliminates difficult to treat contaminants including “forever chemicals” (PFAS), biosolids, power plant wastewater and landfill leachate. Its solutions are currently in use across the country, with numerous new projects set to begin operations by the end of 2026. Visit https://www.oneheartland.com.
