John Replogle, who celebrated his fifth anniversary as CEO of Burt's Bees last month, has left the personal-care products company.
He's jumping ship to join another "green" company. Replogle was recruited to become CEO of Seventh Generation, a company in Burlington, Vt., that makes environmentally friendly household products. He starts March 7.
Because Seventh Generation makes cleaning products that compete with the Green Works line sold by Clorox, which has owned Durham-based Burt's Bees since 2007, Replogle resigned immediately.
Under Replogle's leadership, Burt's Bees has become one of the best-known consumer brands based in the Triangle. The company expanded into international markets, added more retail partners and introduced new products. It employs about 350 people in Durham and sells lip balms, lotions and other products made from honey and other natural ingredients.
"It's bittersweet," said Replogle, 45, who hands out lip balms with his contact information on them as business cards. "I absolutely love Burt's Bees. I could have stayed here my entire life. It was a great fit for me.
"I had taken the company from a national to a global business," he added. "This is about me finding the next growth opportunity personally."
Chief financial officer Doug Haensel will serve as interim CEO, said Burt's Bees spokeswoman Mariah Kulp. Officials at Clorox will work with executives at Burt's Bees to pick a permanent replacement.
"John has worked hard to develop a strong leadership team, but it will be tough shoes to fill, for sure," Kulp said.
Seventh Generation recruited Replogle after its previous CEO left in September. The company sells paper goods and trash bags made from recycled material; nontoxic cleaning, dish and laundry detergents; organic cotton tampons and other products.
Sales at the private company are mostly in the United States and there may be opportunities to expand overseas, Replogle said.
"It is a business that is a few years behind Burt's on the growth curve," Replogle said. "I have a passion for building businesses, teams and brands."
Replogle, who grew up in Boston, plans to keep his house in Raleigh with his wife, Kristin, and their four daughters. He'll divide his time between Raleigh and Burlington.
His job at Burt's Bees has required a lot of international travel recently, which kept him away from home for long stretches. He visited Hong Kong and Japan in December, for example, to help sign a new distribution partner.
With the new job, "I'll be in a lot more control of my calendar," he said. "This is really about me trying to find the right balance between my family and my career."
Replogle has built a reputation as a passionate, socially responsible corporate executive. His motto for Burt's Bees and its employees, "The Greater Good," includes contributing to various local causes, embracing recycling and reducing energy use.
He orchestrated the company's move into a larger corporate headquarters in Durham's American Tobacco Campus, and has been the company's face in the community. That has included giving speeches, doing "dumpster dives" at area schools and churches to demonstrate the importance of reducing waste, and overseeing the company's annual Earth Day events in downtown Raleigh.
He's also built a loyal following at Burt's Bees, holding informal "huddles" at least once a quarter to discuss the business, highlight employees' contributions and encourage new innovations. He plans to explain his move to employees today.
At a January huddle, Replogle mentioned that the company had started a new perk for workers. It now offers an annual $100 subsidy to cover bee-keeping supplies for employees who want to start backyard hives.
But his tenure at Burt's Bees also coincided with the recent recession, which hurt consumer sales of cosmetics and other natural products, especially in the United States.
The company's sales started to rebound last summer, but Clorox recently announced that it would take a charge of up to $255 million to write down the value of the Burt's Bees business. Clorox blamed the accounting move on the "continuing global economic recession and projected slower sales growth ramp-up in new international markets."
Burt's Bees has expanded recently into new markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The company is preparing to begin sales in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Burt's Bees represents about 4 percent of total sales at Clorox, which doesn't release the division's financial results. But Burt's Bees also is the fastest-growing brand within Clorox.
Replogle, who earned degrees from Dartmouth College and Harvard, began his career at the corporate parent of Guinness, the Irish beer. At age 25, he set a goal of becoming a CEO by 40. He still updates a list of personal goals every year.
As he climbed the corporate ladder at Guinness, and his daughters got older, Replogle said that he "didn't want to be known as the beer dad."
So he switched to the beauty industry by joining Unilever, the consumer products giant. That led to his recruitment by Burt's Bees.
