FX.co ★ Scotts Miracle-Gro Names COO Naate Baxter To Addl. Role Of President; CFO Matt Garth To Depart

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (SMG) announced on Tuesday a reshuffle in its executive leadership, granting expanded roles to two key team members. Chief Operating Officer Nate Baxter has been promoted to both president and COO, while Mark Scheiwer, currently the Vice President and Treasurer since December 2022, will step into the role of interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer effective January 1, 2025.

Current CFO and Chief Administrative Officer, Matt Garth, will exit his position on December 31, 2024. In the interim, Garth will ensure a smooth transition leading up to his departure. Having joined ScottsMiracle-Gro as CFO two years ago, Garth's departure is not attributed to any disagreements regarding the Company's financial policies or practices.

In his expanded role, Baxter will be tasked with implementing the Company's strategic initiatives, as well as overseeing departments such as brands, sales, supply chain, marketing, research and development, and information technology.

Scheiwer, who brings over 13 years of diverse finance leadership experience with ScottsMiracle-Gro, will temporarily fulfill the CFO duties while the Company pursues a comprehensive search for a permanent CFO. This search, to be supported by an executive recruitment firm, will evaluate both internal and external candidates. Scheiwer joined the organization in September 2011 and held several escalating financial roles, following a senior audit position with Ernst & Young.

Additionally, Chris Hagedorn, who leads the Hawthorne Gardening Company subsidiary, has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff to Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn. His new responsibilities will include overseeing Company strategy, corporate affairs, including communications and government relations, as well as the Hawthorne division. This appointment marks the introduction of the Chief of Staff role to the executive team.

Nate Baxter initially joined ScottsMiracle-Gro in April 2023 as Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations, later advancing to COO in September 2023. His prior experience includes serving as President of TEL U.S., a Tokyo Electron Ltd. subsidiary, and strategic roles at Intel Corp. in technology, supply chain, strategy, and management.

To bolster its financial acumen further, the Company has appointed Stefan Selig as a senior advisor to the executive team for strategic and financial matters. Selig's extensive expertise includes his past role as U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce.

The Company also reaffirms its fiscal 2025 guidance initially outlined during the fiscal 2024 year-end earnings call on November 6.