Servicemaster CEO Varty resigns
Gursahaney steps in as company explores splitting brands
Servicemaster Global Holdings named Naren K. Gursahaney interim chief executive on Tuesday following the resignation of Nikhil M. Varty.
Gursahaney, who also serves as chairman of the board, said the company will explore the spinoff of the Servicemaster Brands segment. He becomes the third CEO since 2017 at the company.
Varty had led the 13,000-employee Memphis-based home services company since 2017, when he was heralded as a turnaround expert able to build profits . The company reported a loss of about $94 million on $2 billion in revenue in the year that ended Sept. 30, 2019.
Varty’s resignation was disclosed in a document filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Servicemaster stock traded Tuesday morning at $35.53, down 3.3% from Friday’s close. The company is considered the fourth-largest publicly traded corporation based in metropolitan Mem
phis.
Varty had led the spinoff Servicemaster’s American Home Shield unit. Its new brand name is Frontdoor.
Gursahaney is Servicemaster’s chairman of the board, a position he has occupied since last May. The chief executive reports to the chairman.
In a statement released on Tuesday by the company, Gursahaney outlined the reasons for exploring options for Servicemaster Brands.
“Following a thorough review of our portfolio of businesses and the current strong valuations for businesses like Servicemaster Brands, we determined the timing is right to explore strategic alternatives,” the statement says. “We believe Servicemaster shareholders would benefit from our Terminix business becoming a pure-play, global pest control company with enhanced management focus and resources.”
Varty succeeded Robert Gillette, an automotive executive who had stepped in to take Servicemaster public, oversee the move of its head offices from East Memphis to Downtown and spin off lawn maintenance company Trugreen. Varty and Gillette earlier in their careers both had been employed at auto parts maker WABCO, formerly Westinghouse Air Brake.
Gursahaney, a private investor, joined the Servicemaster board in December 2017. From 2012 until 2016, he served as chief executive officer of ADT Corp., a home and business security firm. From 2003 until 2012, he served in various executive positions at Tyco International Ltd., a New Jersey security company that was rechartered in Ireland.
Servicemaster Global Holdings, which employs about 1,200 people in Memphis, operates the brands Amerispec, Furniture Medic, Merry Maids, Servicemaster Clean, Servicemaster Restore and Terminix.
Terminix accounted for $461 million in revenue in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared to $67 million for the other brands.