How We Got Here

Kerry founded Balcones Resources in 1994 with a small group of investors and a focus on commercial recycling in Austin, Texas. Prior to starting Balcones, Kerry was a regional recycling manager for Waste Management and was part of a family owned recycling business.  He also served as a Director and CEO of a Texas Bank holding company.

Kerry is a frequent speaker at national and state recycling trade events and is a two-time finalist for the Ernst and Youngs Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He serves on the advisory board of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas.

Kerry attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an anthropology major, and wanted to become Indiana Jones, before there was an Indiana Jones. He gave up the pursuit to become a pitcher in the Texas Rangers Organization, while finishing his degree at Texas Wesleyan.  According to NASA, several of his ill-fated pitches can still be tracked in orbit today. Kerry graduated from Texas Wesleyan where he received a BA with a major in Political Science.

As the President & CEO of Balcones Resources, Adam Vehik is responsible for overseeing operations and finance, as well as managing the Company’s strategic initiatives. Prior to this role, Mr. Vehik served as Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Balcones for ten (10) years, where he was responsible for financial statement preparation and analysis, improvement of profitability, coordinating tax and audit work, compliance, and capital investments. Mr. Vehik also mentored Balcones managers, with a focus on the economics of recycling and opportunities for operational efficiency. Mr. Vehik holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Vanderbilt University and a JD/MBA from the University of Arkansas.

Adam enjoys Austin’s outdoor and music scenes and is on the Board of Hill Country Conservancy.

As the leader of Balcones’ business development team, Joaquin is on a mission to bring the company’s expertise and commitment to recycling to more communities in the southern United States. Joaquin previously served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of the Austin division.

Before coming to Balcones, Joaquin was the Executive Director of the historic Central Texas nonprofit, Ecology Action of Texas. His efforts there led to increased access to recycling opportunities for Austin’s residents and an expanded awareness of the importance of recycling and other landfill diversion activities across the state. Joaquin is an Alumni of the University of Texas where he received a BA in English.

Caroline is an accomplished business leader with over 25 years of experience in driving change and helping organizations scale to fulfill their potential. She brings extensive expertise in the implementation of financial systems that provide insight into key performance indicators that help inform decision-making.

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Caroline oversees accounting, human resources and IT for all of Balcones locations. She is responsible to evaluate and improve process and workflow design to streamline the back office to support the operations team. She also manages the financing of capital acquisition projects and expansion efforts for all Balcones locations.

Caroline serves as a board member and treasurer for the Lake County Rugby Club, the Young Men’s Service League and the Lake Travis Middle School PTO. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northeastern University.

Natalie is responsible for developing Balcones partnerships throughout the value chain to advance a circular economy and collaborating with the cities where Balcones operates to support their recycling programs. Before joining Balcones, Natalie spent 10 years in public service with the City of Austin, most recently as the City’s Circular Economy Program Manager with the Economic Development Department and Austin Resource Recovery. She served on the inaugural US Plastics Pact Advisory Council and led the City of Austin’s application to the Beyond34 initiative and the New Plastic Economy Global Commitment.

She is a Certified Economic Developer and is an alumna of the Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellowship, the White House Internship Program, Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Emory University.

Robb joined Balcones as its COO in December 2021. He brings to Balcones over 30 years of recycling and waste management industry experience and a track record of excellence in operations optimization and leadership development. He has held leadership roles in a variety of industrial-scale processing companies. Most recently, he was AMP Robotics’ Vice President of Facility Development and Operations. He has previously served as COO at Midwest Recycling Service and Sales where he helped to design, build, commission, and optimize numerous material recovery facilities (MRFs) nationwide. Prior to that, he held leadership positions for Rational Energies, Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Greenstar North America, and TRI-R Systems Corp. Robb holds a BA in Organizational Development from Regis University.

Rusty leads Balcones Resources’ Commodities Group, and coordinates the incoming recyclable material with the end-user demand for fiber and pulp products, developing relationships with paper mills around the world. Rusty started in 1979 at the Dallas recycling company founded by his father, Richard Getter.

Rusty has successfully positioned Balcones as the top provider of high-quality paper-making products – earning the company a reputation as innovators in an otherwise traditional marketplace.  Rusty is a frequent speaker at industry events such as the Paper Recycling Conference and the Southeast Paper Recycling Conference.

Rusty graduated from the University of Texas with a BA in Radio-TV-Film and played baseball for The Longhorns. Rusty began his recycling career after being fired by the Cincinnati Reds for being an imposter.

Richie grew up in the recycling business, working part time at Balcones in the summers prior to attending St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX where he earned a BA in International Relations in 2004. Richie began working full time for Balcones in 2005 continuing to learn the operational side of the business working in the Austin facility.

In 2008, Richie began developing the plastics recycling side of the business aspiring to grow the services provided by Balcones to its client base and to new customers. Today he manages strategic initiatives, growth opportunities, and the Plastics Division for the company. Building relationships within the industry for well over a decade, Richie has assisted clients in finding solutions for difficult to recycle plastics domestically and internationally.

Richie is an avid outdoorsmen and steward of the environment, which continues to drive his passion for diverting valuable resources back into the supply chain.