ScottsMiracle-Gro Promotes Nate Baxter To Succeed Mike Lukemire As COO

(RTTNews) - Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (SMG) announced Monday that it is executing a succession plan for President and COO Mike Lukemire in preparation for his retirement in fiscal 2024.

Under the plan approved by the Board of Directors and agreed upon by Lukemire and Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn, Lukemire will step down as COO on September 3, 2023, and retain his position as president until his retirement.

Lukemire, 65, has been with the Company for almost 28 years, serving as president since February 2016 and COO since January 2015. He continues reporting to Hagedorn.

In a related move, Nate Baxter, 50, executive vice president of technology & operations, will be promoted to chief operating officer on September 4, 2023, reporting to Lukemire, who will mentor Baxter during a transition period.

Baxter joined the Company on April 28, 2023. In his new role, he additionally will be responsible for supply chain, sales and marketing. He previously was president of TEL U.S., a Tokyo Electron Ltd. subsidiary that manufactures semiconductor and flat panel manufacturing equipment. He also worked with Intel Corp. in technology, supply chain, strategy and management.