MoreLawton, 54, will remain in his current role until his successor is named. An external search for a successor has been launched. The company did not disclose a timetable for the search, but Lawton suggested in a statement that it could take a "few months."
Lawton joined the company, then called Johnson Wax Professional, as president and chief operating officer in January 1999 and was made CEO in September 2000. Prior to Johnson Wax Professional, he was president of NuTone Inc., a supplier to the home building products industry, from 1994 to 1998. He worked for Procter & Gamble from 1972 to 1994.
Under Lawton's tenure, the company has grown from a business with about 3,000 employees and $1 billion in sales to a global company with more than 12,000 employees and $3.2 billion in sales.
