William J. Plunkett was vice president of communications at Waste Management, Inc. through most of the 1990s. He enjoyed an up-close view of the company’s development and management for a dozen years from its then Oak Brook, IL headquarters. Prior to his time at Waste Management, he worked in journalism at the Chicago Today afternoon newspaper and then, shortly after graduating from Loyola University Chicago, at the Chicago Tribune. There he served for more than a decade as a copy editor, assistant news editor and writer at the Chicago Tribune. He then served on the staff of the Tribune’s parent, Tribune Company, before joining Waste Management in 1986. After leaving Waste Management in 1998, Mr. Plunkett for many years served as a communications consultant to the company and headed his own public affairs company. Mr. Plunkett and his wife Jeanne live in Chicago’s western suburbs.