Matthews International names new President/CEO

September 1, 2026/Finance/

It didn’t take long for Death Care conglomerate Matthews International to name a new President and CEO following this August 4, 2026, press release indicating that current President/CEO Josepah Bartolacci would be retiring after more than two decades of leadership at the company.

One week later on August 11, 2026, Matthews International issued this press release naming Michael J. Whitehead as the company’s new President/CEO.

According to that most recent press release, “Whitehead joins Matthews from Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LECO), a global leader in advanced manufacturing, automation, and industrial technology solutions. He most recently served as Executive Vice President and President, Americas Welding, leading Lincoln Electric’s largest and most profitable business, representing more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue.”

Here is a biographical page from Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Whitehead gave this comment in a prepared statement from the August 11 press release, “I am honored to have been selected as President and Chief Executive Officer of Matthews International and grateful for the Board’s confidence. Matthews has built a strong reputation through innovation, trusted customer relationships, and the dedication of its employees around the world. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our global team to sharpen our strategic focus, strengthen execution, and create sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: For the past several years Revenue from Matthews International Corporation has been led by the Memorialization segment of the business. As the company has divested the SGK Brand Solutions business and struggled with their Industrial Technology segment it has appeared to me that the Memorialization segment has became more and more important.

However, that Memorialization segment, which includes Aurora Casket, The Dodge Company, Matthews Environmental (cremation), and their legacy cemetery memorialization business, is very mature in nature. Although, of late, they seem to be more and more interested in acquisitions to grow the segment.

Looking at the background of Mr. Whitehead, one would probably assume his leadership skills will be asked to grow the newer, innovative, and potentially growth-oriented edge of Matthews International with less of a skill-set and relationships in the historic Memorialization segment.

However, his background in business development and growth strategies may bring another level of acquisition prowess to Matthews in what may be a nudge towards more acquisitions to build and strengthen the Memorialization segment. . .

Time will tell. . .

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