DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. - After a year that challenged executives at ServiceMaster, the parent company of TruGreen-ChemLawn and TruGreen LandCare, the service industry firm named Jonathan Ward its new chief executive officer. The 46-year-old joins the company from printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons and takes over for C. William Pollard who returns to the retirement he ended when the previous ServiceMaster CEO became ill.
Despite the company’s green industry challenges over the last year - TruGreen-ChemLawn’s annual growth dropped from 13 percent to 5 percent, and the purchase of LandCare USA has been a considerable drain on growth over the last 12 months because of poor expense management, according to one financial analyst - Ward is confident ServiceMaster is well positioned for success.
“This is not a business that needs to be turned around and flipped on its ear,” Ward noted in a conference call with investors. Ward also discussed the potential for creating an “umbrella brand” for the company’s various service offerings in order to simplify matters for consumers.
The lagging performance of its lawn care and landscape operations will certainly be one of Ward’s first areas of business, however. The company disclosed that its year 2000 operating revenue of $1.563 million was 12 percent higher than the previous year, but profitability fell 25 percent in that same time from more than $228 million to $172 million.
