Scott Barbour’s business is water.
As president and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems Inc., he has placed the company on an impressive growth trajectory through strategic operational moves and an emphasis on sustainability.
ADS provides solutions and products for stormwater and wastewater management. It develops, manufactures and sells plastic pipe and other products for use in agriculture, nonresidential construction and residential development. The publicly traded company, founded in 1966, operates 63 manufacturing facilities, 38 distribution centers and multiple recycling centers.
Barbour, a rural Arkansas native, credits his family’s move to rural New Hampshire for teaching him how to meet new people and integrate into new cultures. “It’s a good learning experience to get along with all kinds of different people,” says Barbour, Columbus CEO’s 2025 CEO of the Year winner in the Large For-Profit category. “I think I’ve leveraged that as I’ve moved from different companies to different jobs, different locales.”
He started his career as a project engineer at Colt Industries after earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Methodist University. After getting his MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, Barbour worked for Emerson Electric Co. from 1989 to 2016. He held multiple leadership posts, including president of Emerson Climate Technologies’ American and Asian air conditioning divisions. After three years in Hong Kong, he was transferred to Columbus in 2011 as executive vice president of struggling Emerson Network Power.
“I learned a lot during that period of time, not all easy,” Barbour says. “I’d had a lot of success in my career, and I hit something that was really tough in a very visible type of way.” The company divested the business, now known as Vertiv, and it and Barbour parted ways.
Since joining ADS in 2017, he has overseen significant growth marked by multiple acquisitions, financial gains and a new headquarters and Engineering and Technology Center, both in Hilliard. The 110,000-square-foot, $65 million center unites research and development, testing and other functions. “The ultimate goal of this is to get products to the market faster,” Barbour says.
Bob Eversole, chairman of the ADS board of directors, says Barbour is a strategic thinker who isn’t content with the status quo. “I think every day he wakes up saying, ‘We can be better at this, we can be better at that,’ ” says Eversole, a managing partner of Stonehenge Partners Inc. and former president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank’s Central Ohio region.
Guided by the trademarked slogan “Our Reason is Water,” sustainability has become a major emphasis.
ADS is one of the largest plastics recyclers in North America. In fiscal 2025, it purchased more than 500 million pounds of recycled plastic—about half the company’s annual usage.
As ADS shifted its messaging from products to water, growth has followed. “Water is a precious resource. When we do our jobs well, it makes communities a better place to live,” Barbour says.
Between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2025, the company grew from $1.26 billion in revenue and 4,500 employees to $2.9 billion in revenue and 6,000 employees. Barbour also touts a significant rise in cash flow and an increase in profitability, with adjusted EBITDA margins doubling from 15 percent to 30 percent.
Barbour says a rigorous evaluation of manufacturing, logistics, sales and other processes has yielded benefits, as has a significant capital investment in machinery, the fleet and several key acquisitions that helped grow the business, dating back to Infiltrator Water Technologies in 2019.
Eversole says Barbour has deftly navigated challenges such as the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and acquisitions while leading from the front, making time for customers and employees.
“He cares about the people. He cares about the company. He cares about the community.”
About Scott Barbour
President and CEO, Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.
In role since: 2017
Age: 64
Education: Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Southern Methodist University; MBA, Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management
Community involvement: Member of the Columbus Partnership; board of directors, Allison Transmission and Recreation Unlimited; advisory board and “buddy,” Buddy Up for Life and Buddy Up Tennis; rider with the ADS Foundation Pelotonia team
This story is from the CEO of the Year package in the Winter 2026 issue of Columbus CEO. Subscribe now at subscribe.columbusceo.com.
This article originally appeared on Columbus CEO: CEO of the Year 2025 Winner Scott Barbour Drives Growth at Advanced Drainage Systems
Reporting by Julanne Hohbach, Columbus CEO / Columbus CEO
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
