Scotts' president to leave the company

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has some major leadership changes on deck for the new year.

Barry Sanders, president and COO, will be departing the company as of Jan. 31 in what Scotts described as "an ongoing effort focused on de-layering the company to improve operational efficiency and speed to market." The company has cut down its executive leadership staff -- at the senior vice president level or higher -- by about 25% in 2014.

In his place as COO will be Mike Lukemire, who currently leads the North American consumer business. The global consumer segment, Scotts LawnService and strategic planning will report to him.

"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 CEO. "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," continued Hagedorn. "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."

Lukemire has been with the company since 1995 and has held roles there such as director of operations, VP manufacturing, and SVP global supply chain.

Additionally, Jim Gimeson will take charge of Scotts LawnService as its sole leader. Mark Wilhelmi, who was his co-leader as part of a transition plan, will go through with his retirement.

Gimeson joined Scotts in 2008 as finance lead for Smith & Hawken. Since then, he has led the global purchasing team and served as SVP strategic planning and COO of Scotts LawnService. Prior to his time at Scotts, he was president and COO for Longaberger Company.

"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."