Paul Grady
New StoneMor CEO

On Wednesday, May 17, StoneMor Partners took some steps to reverse the fortunes of their company when they named a new CEO and a new CFO to replace departed CFO Sean McGrath and CEO Lawrence Miller.  StoneMor has been plagued for over the last year with quarterly losses, decreased cash flows, and a cut of its dividend to shareholders.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal the company named former utility company executive Paul Grady as its new CEO and Mark Miller as its new CFO effective immediately.  Both Grady and Miller are Philadelphia natives.

The article states that Grady has had a career in sales and operations at companies such as Campbell Soup and AmeriGas while Miller comes from an accounting background and has worked as a consultant for StoneMor.  Grady also had a stint as CEO of NEOgas.

It is also suggested in the article that StoneMor’s financial issues have been hindered by both the companies leasing of Catholic Cemeteries in Philadelphia and a change in the U.S. Department of Labor regarding minimum wage and overtime to employees.  In a November 2016 interview, the company acknowledged that it had to switch its sales force from commission based to hourly wages.

StoneMor is a publicly traded death care acquisition company that operates 316 cemeteries and 100 funeral homes in 27 states and Puerto Rico.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’m a stockholder in StoneMor and have seen its value plummet from about $25 per sahre to about $9 in today’s market.  They also lowered their dividend from $2.64 per share to today’s $1.32 per share.  I’ve always wondered if StoneMor was a “Sales” company or and “Operations” company.

It is pretty apparent that StoneMor has always focused on sales while most funeral home companies, including their competitors,  focus on operations.  To that end, I find Grady a quick study on the death care industry as he is quoted in the article as saying, ” We have fallen short in operational areas and have a sales force to rebuild”.  I’m excited that he understands the operational – service end of the industry and its connection to increased sales.  While I don’t know, I’m guessing that the Department of Labor’s rulings probably led to a decrease in the sales force and new management understands it must be rebuilt whatever the cost for the cemetery and pre-need areas.

Grady may be the leader necessary to help StoneMor find its footing before it slips away.  However, I may have looked for somebody a little more experienced in the funeral industry if I had been conducting the CEO search.  Time will tell what way the company goes.[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]