Carriage Services Adds Another New Member to its Board of Directors

There is a lot going on these days at Carriage Services.

On June 29, mere hours after Connecting Directors, which is owned by Ryan Thogmartin, reported that Park Lawn Corp. was interested in buying the company, both Park Lawn and Carriage Services issued news releases.

Thogmartin even included a a June 13, 2023, letter in which Park Lawn Chief Executive Officer J. Bradley Green writes that his company’s proposal “represents the best path forward for Carriage and carries strategic merits which are unmatched by any other alternative available to the Company.” You can read the letter that Thogmartin and his company obtained in the Connecting Directors article.

Weeks later, Carriage Services named its first female director to its board of directors: Somer Webb, who will serve as the chair of the board’s Compensation Committee and as a member of the Board’s Audit and Corporate Governance committees.

As FuneralVision reported, Webb has extensive experience in financial planning and analysis, M&A, and driving organic growth through business intelligence insights. She currently serves as the chief financial officer of Solo Brands, a public company focused on outdoor and lifestyle products for consumers.

Ryan Thogmartin’s company broke the news about Park Lawn exploring a possible purchase of Carriage Services.

Another New Board Member

On July 25, Carriage Services issued another news release, stating that its board of directors has elected Julie Sanders (pictured at top) as an independent member of the board, effective immediately. Sanders, 55, will serve as a member of the Corporate Governance, Audit and Compensation Committees.

Sanders currently serves as senior vice president and chief audit executive at Dell Technologies, one of the world’s leading technology companies. Her career at Dell spans 21 years where she has held various finance, accounting, and audit leadership positions before becoming the chief audit executive in 2021. In this role, she is responsible for leading the global audit organization and the company’s enterprise risk management program. She began her career at KPMG and previously served in two chief financial officer roles.

“We are excited to welcome Julie to the Carriage Board,” said Carriage’s executive chairman, Mel Payne. “Julie’s more than twenty years with Dell, where she has held a variety of leadership roles, will provide us with great insight and expertise as we continue to identify opportunities for growth and execute on our Ten-Year Vision, which we discussed in this year’s shareholder letter.”

“I look forward to joining the Carriage Board to support the Company’s growth and help create value for shareholders. My experience is well aligned with the Company’s vision and transformation journey, and I look forward to learning more about Carriage’s high performance culture and customer service,” Sanders said.

Carlos Quezada, the company’s CEO and vice chairman of the board said, “Julie’s diverse experience, which includes leadership roles related to technical accounting, financial planning and analysis, M&A, scaling companies and long-term strategic planning, will serve Carriage and our shareholders well. Specifically, her experience with Environmental, Social and Governance efforts at Dell will be valuable in helping drive our focus on those areas moving forward. Julie’s addition to the Board further supports our commitment to enhancing the Company’s focus on governance this year.