StoneMor Shakes up Executive Suites

On Friday StoneMor Partners issued a press release that you can read here.  In it they announced that current CEO Paul Grady would be leaving and would be replaced by Leo Pound, who has been a director of StoneMor since 2014 and was previously their acting Chief Operating Officer.  According to the release, Pound is an experienced executive with a focus on increasing customer and shareholder value.

StoneMor also announced in the same release that death care industry executive Jim Ford would be leaving Foundation Partners and becoming the Chief Operating Officer of StoneMor.  Ford also has experience with the Neptune Society and spent 16 years with Service Corporation International.  The release states that Ford will have all operational responsibilities of the company in his lap.

Funeral Director Daily take:  This is not the first time that we have said that StoneMor Partners, in our opinion, is trying to find the right formula for success.  A company that has three leadership teams in one calendar year is indicative of a company that is trying to right the ship.  Here are some thoughts we have:

  • We have said for sometime that StoneMor should get back to its roots in the cemetery business.  There is some indication that is partly what they are doing.  We noticed that on their January 26 3rd Qtr press release they indicated that they owned 97 funeral homes — on Friday’s release they indicate that they own 93.  Could divesting funeral homes – and getting back to the cemetery business be part of their plan?
  • StoneMor is a highly leveraged company, in our opinion.  What will the possibility of federal interest rates rising do to their future cash flow?
  • The press release touts Mr. Pound’s ability in strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions.  It is our opinion that mergers and acquisitions may be a big part of the future of StoneMor.
  • New COO Mr. Ford has a history with Service Corporation and Foundations Partners Group.  The death care industry is built on relationships — maybe something will be in the works with one of those groups.

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1 Comment

  1. Brianna on March 10, 2018 at 1:03 pm

    Laurel Grove became Savannah’s first rural cemetery when it opened in 1853, with segregated North and South sections for white and black burials respectively. Wiltberger called his new cemetery at Bonaventure “Evergreen,” a name that, like “Laurel Grove,” emphasized the natural beauty of the location. In 1868, Wiltbergers’s son William formed the Evergreen Cemetery Company of Bonaventure. In the years just following the Civil War, the cemetery drew numerous visitors including photographers and writers.



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