The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1996 to present
Nate Baxter is the CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro, in the role since 2026. The first chief executive was Charles M. Berger, from 1996.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nate Baxter | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| Pete Shumlin | Chairman of the Board | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| James Hagedorn | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 2001 | 2026 | 25 |
| Charles M. Berger | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1996 | 2001 | 5 |
ScottsMiracle-Gro is the leading branded consumer lawn and garden company in North America, based in Marysville, Ohio. Its brands include Scotts Turf Builder, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat, and it markets consumer Roundup for Bayer. After selling the Hawthorne hydroponics business in 2026, it is almost entirely a U.S. and Canadian consumer lawn and garden company.
Scotts Miracle-Gro makes money by manufacturing and marketing branded lawn and garden products and selling them mainly through large retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart, plus a growing e-commerce channel. The U.S. Consumer segment generated $2.994 billion of fiscal 2025 net sales from lawn food, grass seed, plant food, soils, mulch and pest control. Scotts also earns commissions as the exclusive marketer of consumer Roundup for Bayer, and it shares in the results of the Bonnie Plants joint venture. Hawthorne, its former hydroponics segment, was sold in 2026.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
Baxter executes the incredibly strict operational and financial turnaround following the catastrophic collapse of the Hawthorne division, aggressively paying down the company's massive debt burden.
As President and COO, he acts as the absolute operational backbone, attempting to stabilize the company after years of highly erratic, volatile management.
Chairman of the Board
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
As a highly influential Board Member, the former Governor provides absolutely critical political and regulatory insight regarding the legalization of cannabis.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
2001 – 2026
25 years
Hagedorn executed the incredibly aggressive, massive multi-billion dollar bet on the 'Hawthorne' hydroponics division to capture the explosive cannabis market, which completely collapsed post-pandemic, severely damaging the company.
As the notoriously fiery, highly controversial Chairman and CEO (and son of Miracle-Gro's founder), he maintains absolute, iron-fisted control over the company's strategic direction.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1996 – 2001
5 years
Berger managed the highly complex, massive $1.2 billion merger between Scotts (the massive lawn care company) and Miracle-Gro (the massive fertilizer company) in 1995, creating the absolute dominant monopoly in US lawn care.
Serving as CEO during the 1990s, he successfully integrated two fiercely independent, family-run businesses into a highly profitable, publicly traded behemoth.
These officers report to the chief executive and are not part of the CEO timeline above.
The company faces weather volatility, consumer spending sensitivity, retailer concentration, private-label pressure, raw-material swings, glyphosate and pesticide regulation, and debt discipline after the Hawthorne hydroponics expansion. Because much of the category depends on spring conditions, a cold, wet, dry, or delayed season can shift demand and working capital quickly.
James "Jim" Hagedorn has served as Chief Executive Officer of Scotts Miracle-Gro since 2001 and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2003.
Jim Hagedorn is the son of Miracle-Gro co-founder Horace Hagedorn. Prior to joining the family business, he was a US Air Force fighter pilot flying F-16s, bringing a disciplined, aggressive, and mission-oriented leadership style to corporate operations.
Orlando McLean Scott was a Civil War Union soldier who founded O.M. Scott & Sons in 1868. He led the company for three decades, building an unshakeable reputation for supplying clean, weed-free seed that revolutionized midwestern agriculture.
Horace Hagedorn was a legendary New York advertising executive who co-founded Miracle-Gro in 1951. He served as the creative promotional genius behind the brand for four decades, turning water-soluble plant food into a household name before serving as Vice Chairman after the 1995 merger.
Tadd C. Seitz served as CEO of The Scotts Company from 1983 to 1996. He spearheaded the 1986 leveraged buyout from ITT, led the 1992 public offering on the NYSE, and orchestrated the historic 1995 merger with Miracle-Gro.
Charles B. Mills joined Scotts in the 1920s and transformed it from a regional seed company into a national consumer lawn care pioneer, launching Turf Builder fertilizer and creating "Lawn Care" magazine, which educated suburban America on turf management.
Jim Hagedorn made the bold strategic decision in 2014 to enter the hydroponics and legal cannabis market through Hawthorne Gardening, investing over $1 billion to acquire category leaders like General Hydroponics and Sunlight Supply.
Faced with a collapse in cannabis cultivation and severe inventory gluts in 2022, Hagedorn launched Project Springboard, cutting $300M+ in overhead costs, reducing debt, and restructuring Hawthorne while maintaining core brand marketing.
Chris Hagedorn, son of CEO Jim Hagedorn, served as the founding President of The Hawthorne Gardening Company from 2014 to 2024, spearheading its acquisitions and growth during the state-by-state legalization of cannabis.
Hagedorn is famous for a blunt, entrepreneurial, and candid management style. He emphasizes aggressive accountability, wellness initiatives for employees, and direct communication, eschewing traditional corporate jargon.
Through Hagedorn Partnership, L.P., the family controls substantial board representation and ownership rights established during the 1995 merger agreement, providing long-term strategic stability across market cycles.
Scotts leadership has been recognized for extensive philanthropy, establishing the Horace Hagedorn Foundation, funding the Hagedorn Pediatric Inpatient Center, and donating millions to urban community gardens and clean water watershed protection.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
Explore Scotts Miracle-Gro
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.