ScottsMiracle-Gro Announces Final Phase of Executive Restructuring Focused on Improving Operational Efficiency
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Barry Sanders, President and Chief Operating Officer, to Depart the Company
January 31
Jim Gimeson Assumes Leadership at Scotts LawnService as Mark Wilhelmi Retires
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 19, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Scotts Miracle-Gro
Company (NYSE:SMG), the world's leading marketer of branded consumer lawn and
garden products, today announced Barry Sanders, president and chief operating
officer, will depart the Company January 31, 2015, as part of an ongoing effort
focused on de-layering the company to improve operational efficiency and speed
to market.
Since the beginning of the current calendar year, the Company has eliminated
approximately 25 percent of its leadership roles at the senior vice president
level or higher. The Company intends to have completed the vast majority of
these efforts by the end of the first half of fiscal 2015.
"Two years ago, we committed to our shareholders that we would improve the focus
and profitability of this Company and we continue to deliver on this promise,"
said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive officer. "The decisions we have
made over the past year have often been difficult, but none more difficult than
this one. Barry's contributions to ScottsMiracle-Gro during his 15-year tenure
were significant and we will continue to benefit from the result of that
leadership for years to come. The decision we reached regarding his departure
came after a series of conversations with the entire leadership team, including
Barry, who agreed on the need to continue improving our decision-making
processes and eliminate executive-level redundancies.
"While we are the leader in the lawn and garden industry, we are modestly-sized
compared to other leading consumer goods companies. So when we objectively
assessed our organizational structure, we realized we had more layers of
executive decision-making than we needed. Therefore we decided to further de-
layer and divide Barry's duties appropriately."
Mike Lukemire, who currently leads the North American consumer business, will
become chief operating officer. The entire global consumer segment will report
to Lukemire as will Scotts LawnService. Strategic planning will report to
Hagedorn.
"I agree that continuing to streamline the executive ranks of the organization
is the right move for ScottsMiracle-Gro at this time and Mike Lukemire, who has
been engaged in nearly all parts of the business during his 20-year tenure, is
the right choice for this role," Sanders said. "While I will deeply miss my
colleagues, I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to help lead
this great company. I wish them continued success as I now look ahead to
beginning the next chapter in my life and career."
The Company also announced that Jim Gimeson will assume sole leadership of
Scotts LawnService. Gimeson and Mark Wilhelmi have been co-leaders of this
business since last summer as part of a transition plan related to Wilhelmi's
planned retirement after 40 years with the Company.
"The changes we have been implementing are the result of an honest and objective
assessment by the entire leadership team and Board of Directors," Hagedorn
said. "I am confident that we have smartly positioned the Company to fully
capture the opportunities we have to drive growth and continue to enhance
shareholder value."
More About Mike Lukemire
Mike began his ScottsMiracle-Gro career in 1995, and has had several progressive
assignments, including director of operations; vice president of manufacturing;
and senior vice president of global supply chain. After serving as executive
vice president of global technologies and operations, he was named regional
president, responsible for leading the Company's business development, marketing
and sales efforts in the southeastern U.S. He eventually led the entire North
American sales function until 2014 when he was named executive vice president
for the entire North American business.
Mike had 16 years of business unit and operations management experience before
joining ScottsMiracle-Gro, with leadership assignments at Nabisco, Kraft-General
Foods and Kroger. He earned bachelor's degrees in chemistry and biology at
Georgetown College (Kentucky) and attended the Kraft Executive Management School
at Southern Methodist University.
More About Jim Gimeson
Jim began his career at ScottsMiracle-Gro in 2008 as the finance lead for Smith
& Hawken before briefly leading the global purchasing team. Afterward, he was
named senior vice president of strategic planning before being named to lead two
of the company's flagship business units, including the iconic Scotts and
Miracle-Gro brands. In that role, Jim led overall strategy, marketing, brand
development, operational planning and tactical performance of the brands. He was
named chief operating officer of Scotts LawnService in 2014.
Before joining ScottsMiracle-Gro, Jim was president and chief operating officer
for the Longaberger Company, a leading direct marketing company of home décor
products. He earned a bachelor's degree from Muskingum University and completed
his MBA at The Ohio State University's Max M. Fisher College of Business.
Recorded Comments Available
Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn will elaborate further on this announcement in a
pre-recorded audio message that is immediately available on the investor
relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.scotts.com. The
recording will be available for 30 days.
About ScottsMiracle-Gro
With more than $2.8 billion in worldwide sales, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden
care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S.,
the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® brands are market-leading in
their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® brand, which is marketed in North
America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In the
U.S., we operate Scotts LawnService®, the second largest residential lawn care
service business. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®,
Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligène® and Substral®. For
additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical
fact, which address activities, events and developments that the Company expects
or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, but not limited to,
information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of
the Company, the plans and objectives of the Company's management, and the
Company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws that are
subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements generally
can be identified as statements that include phrases such as "guidance,"
"outlook," "projected," "believe," "target," "predict," "estimate," "forecast,"
"strategy," "may," "goal," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "foresee,"
"likely," "will," "should" or other similar words or phrases. Actual results
could differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release due
to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
* Compliance with environmental and other public health regulations could
increase the Company's costs of doing business or limit the Company's
ability to market all of its products;
* Increases in the prices of raw materials and fuel costs could adversely
affect the Company's results of operations;
* The highly competitive nature of the Company's markets could adversely
affect its ability to maintain or grow revenues;
* Because of the concentration of the Company's sales to a small number of
retail customers, the loss of one or more of, or significant reduction in
orders from, its top customers could adversely affect the Company's
financial results;
* Adverse weather conditions could adversely impact financial results;
* The Company's international operations make the Company susceptible to
fluctuations in currency exchange rates and to other costs and risks
associated with international regulation;
* The Company may not be able to adequately protect its intellectual property
and other proprietary rights that are material to the Company's business;
* If Monsanto Company were to terminate the Marketing Agreement for consumer
Roundup products, the Company would lose a substantial source of future
earnings and overhead expense absorption;
* Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. beneficially owns approximately 27% of the
Company's common shares and can significantly influence decisions that
require the approval of shareholders;
* The Company may pursue acquisitions, dispositions, investments, dividends,
share repurchases and/or other corporate transactions that it believes will
maximize equity returns of its shareholders but may involve risks.
Additional detailed information concerning a number of the important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
information contained in this release is readily available in the Company's
publicly filed quarterly, annual and other reports. The Company disclaims any
obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly
any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release,
or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.
CONTACT: Jim King
Senior Vice President
Chief Communications Officer
(937) 578-5622
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1882144]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 19.12.2014 - 14:46 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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