About: Le Herron

Le Herron spent his business career at three companies with challenging workplace environments. While serving two of the three as a chief executive officer, he discovered a profound interest in helping people turn on their talent.

Born June 30, 1921, Le graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in civil engineering. During World War II, he served in an Army Corps of Engineers battalion constructing airfields, hospitals, and roads on the battleground islands of New Guinea, IeShima, and Okinawa. By the end of the war, he had attained the rank of major.

With returning GIs flooding the job market in 1945, Le began managing a warehouse for Franklin Hardware & Supply Co. in Philadelphia, a firm headed by his father. Learning on the job, he gradually assumed finance, purchasing, operational, and executive responsibilities. While this took a burden off the senior Mr. Herron ("the world’s best salesman," according to Le), it was an awkward situation for father and son.

A solution appeared in 1957 when Le was offered the position of general manager of American Hardware Supply Co. (later renamed Servistar). Top-level autocracy had created serious labor union problems at American Hardware, at that time the largest U.S. retailer-owned hardware distributor. Touring the premises early in his new job as GM, Le was told by the shop steward, "You probably have a lot of plans and ideas for this company. We’ll let you know what you can do."

Only after years of bitter struggle involving a six-month strike, a settlement, a geographic move to escape the union’s grip, and a subsequent battle through National Labor Relations Board arbitration and then the courts, did American Hardware finally win a ruling as a "right to work" company. This gave it the freedom to hire nonunion employees for market wages and allocate workers to suit its needs.

Le led the company during this time as its de facto CEO, reporting to a retailer board of directors. Despite the difficulty of the long struggle, he is not antiunion. "From a personal standpoint, I’m grateful for these eight years," he says. "Next to my service in the Army, they gave me the steepest learning curves of my life."

In 1965 he was offered a new and different challenge: to join O.M. Scott & Sons in Marysville, Ohio, the national manufacturer and marketer of Windsor grass seed, Turf Builder fertilizer, and other lawn care products.

Recruited as Scotts’ executive vice president, Le was scheduled to become chief executive in a year. Unfortunately, the current CEO’s reluctance to delegate his responsibilities had already discouraged other potential successors. "We hope you last longer than the other guys," a company veteran told Le.

As the one-year deadline came and went, workers grew increasingly uncertain about what would become of Scotts. Although the mergers & acquisitions boom was then picking up steam, the CEO assured them that the publicly traded over-the-counter company would not be sold.

In 1967, the CEO moved up to chairman and Le took the title of chief executive. But it was hard for the new chairman to give up his former role. He stayed closely involved in many decisions.

In 1971, O.M. Scott & Sons was sold to ITT Corporation. Many workers who cherished Scotts’ "family" atmosphere felt betrayed by their prior chief executives, who had owned much of the stock. Le says, "I don’t think I became the real leader until I had to stand up there and tell people their company had been acquired."

This acquisition wasn’t like others ITT had made. Le negotiated with the conglomerate’s notoriously tough CEO, Harold Geneen, to make sure all of Scotts’ Associate benefits would remain, including pension and profit-sharing plans, family medical coverage, and a park with recreational facilities for Associates and their families. Thus, he was able to assure the workforce that the only major change would be the name of the company’s owners. The chairman retired, leaving Le in full charge of a company with tremendous potential and a real need for professional management.

During the next 12 years, Scotts expanded into professional turf and nursery markets, developed a new tier of premium lawn products to help smaller retailers compete against mass merchandisers, and established a strategic partnership with a leading European garden products company. It built a second manufacturing plant, a research center, and a headquarters building. All are situated within sight of each other on 300 acres outside Marysville, bringing more than just symbolic unity to a company whose few buildings used to be scattered all over town.

Scotts’ financial results during this time were also noteworthy. Said ITT Media Information Manager David R. Allen in a 1982 letter to Fortune:

…Scott has shown tremendous growth since it was acquired by ITT in 1971. Between 1971 and 1981 Scott’s sales increased by 280% and its net income by some 560%. Scott’s growth in sales in the decade preceding the acquisition was only 50% and its growth in net income only 60%….

Under F. Leon Herron, who has been president since 1967, Scott has been a most pleasant addition to the ITT system. "

"Letters to Fortune," Fortune, June 14, 1982

However, there was a potential dark side to growth. Scotts’ workforce increased to 1,200 people, introducing change that jeopardized the company’s homegrown work ethic. Marysville’s continuing industrial development brought more interest from unions, and the company was the target of several unionization attempts — all unsuccessful — while Le was CEO.

Le’s remarkable leadership philosophy made the difference. This philosophy, which helped strengthen Associate loyalty and foster the burst of productivity noted by Mr. Allen, is explained in Making Your Company Human.

Le Herron retired from Scotts in 1983 at the age of 62. Since then, he has served on several boards of directors, including a number of community organizations. He lives in Marysville with his wife, Betty.

In 2005, Le was invited by Scotts (now The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company) to assist in dedicating the Le Herron Wellness Center. Centrally located on the Scotts campus, this new state-of-the-art resource provides a fitness center, medical facilities, and a pharmacy to help current and retired Associates improve their health and well-being. There could be no more fitting corporate tribute to Le’s work in helping people fulfill their full potential.