#ESC2025 Speaker Spotlight: Neil Peters-Michaud

Raised in Silicon Valley, Neil Peters-Michaud has built a career at the intersection of environmental advocacy, public policy and electronics reuse. He carried an early conservation ethic into his studies and campus projects at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he pushed practical waste-reduction efforts that paired savings with sustainability.

At the university he helped move surplus into reuse streams, work that fed into the Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP), a surplus initiative from the mid-1990s funded by the state Department of Natural Resources that grew into SWAP. Those early programs showed how recovery could cut disposal, save money and create value across campus operations. 

Seeing a wider market gap, he co-founded Cascade Asset Management in 1999 to focus on secure IT asset reuse and recycling, an idea he refined in UW’s WAVE entrepreneurship program, which also provided early funding. “We were landfilling electronics that had a better place,” he said. 

After 25 years as CEO, Peters-Michaud is now president of Cascade within Sage Sustainable Electronics, following a merger in January 2025. He continues to lead Cascade’s operations while helping integrate the two businesses, with plans to operate as one company in 2026, he told E-Scrap News. 

Beyond the business, he has advised policymakers in Wisconsin and contributed to international e-scrap work, including technical assistance in Ethiopia through the StEP initiative and participation in the US EPA’s 2012 Sustainable Electronics Forum.

This month he will bring both business and policy expertise to the E-Scrap Conference, speaking on M&A activity as well as Basel Convention export issues. So now it is time to step away from the boardroom and into the spotlight with Neil Peters-Michaud.

What’s your default karaoke song?

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatles. I had to sing it once in the Philippines during an EPA international e-waste meeting when I was put on the spot, and that’s what I chose. I’m glad I did, it’s an easy singalong, and everyone joined in.

What band or song makes you crank up the volume in your car?

Radiohead. Anything by them works, but Weird Fishes is a favorite.

What’s your guilty-pleasure TV show?

I don’t watch much TV, but I’ll admit to watching Shark Tank. It’s entertaining and I end up getting drawn into it.

When was the last time you took public transport, and where to?

I took a bus down to Chicago to pick up a used Rivian. Then I drove it back. That was my most recent ride.

Who would you most hate to be stuck in an elevator with?

[Former Green Bay Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers. That might not be a popular answer around here, but he came to mind. I’ll leave it at that.

What piece of business advice do you think is overrated?

“It’s all about the numbers.” Numbers matter, but they don’t tell the whole story. Relationships, values and strategy play just as big a role.

What’s your most irrational superstition or habit?

When I say something I don’t want to be true, I bite my hand above and below. It’s an Iranian tradition a friend taught me, and it stuck with me.

Aliens land and ask you to explain capitalism in one sentence. What do you say?

Unrestricted access to information and capital used to make decisions. That’s how I’d sum it up, drawing from my philosophy background.

If you weren’t in the recycling industry, what different job would you secretly love to do?

A chef. I worked as one in college, trained by another chef, and I loved it. I enjoy cooking all kinds of cuisines, French, Italian, Cajun, Ethiopian. I’d happily go back to that world, though I might be a little too old to start fresh now.

Who was your childhood hero?

My dad. He set the example for me.

What ringtone is on your phone right now?

Just the default one. I’ve never bothered to change it.

What’s the most recent book you gave up on, and why?

[Political advisor] Fiona Hill’s autobiography. I thought it was too egocentric and I just couldn’t stay with it.

When was the last time you did something for the very first time?

I tried axe throwing this summer. It was new for me, and I wasn’t very good at it, but it was fun to try.

What’s pinned to your fridge door?

The door is stainless, so nothing sticks to the front. But on the side I keep the NFL and college football schedules, the Packers and the [UW] Badgers. That’s what I follow.

What’s the strangest thing on your desk right now?

I’ve got cherry tomatoes everywhere, because the plants are going crazy and I snack on them all day. There’s also a banana peel I haven’t composted yet, so that’s sitting there too. And for good measure, I’ve got an old adding machine. It’s a messy desk, but it works for me.