Two top-level executives at Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in Marysville left abruptly this week. Vice Presidents, David Aronowitz and Christopher Nagel departed within 24 hours of each other with little explanation.
"I would agree. It's not a usual occurrence," he said.
Scotts Spokesman Jim King says both men "decided to leave the company immediately."
"I will tell you and I think it's important to assure the shareholders of the company in particular that their departures were not related to the performance of the business. The departures were not related in any way to the financial integrity or the corporate governance of the business," he said.
Last week, Scotts warned of lower-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. But, it blamed "poor" weather in April for the results.
Fisher College of Business Professor Henrick Kronqvist could not comment directly on the Scotts case but he says quick departures of company executives are not all that uncommon in private industry. He says when they do occur; the bottom line is often the determining factor. "I think it is quite clear that there is a lot of pressure to perform and to meet the expectations of the stock market and the analysts. That's for sure. Some people would argue that the pressures these days is more significant that it has been in the past," he said.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Nagel agrees to cooperate in any existing or future litigation. The company is currently involved in litigation in New England involving its non-smoking policy. But King says Nagel's exit is "in no way" related to the court suit.