Frank B. Stewart, Jr., is the chairman of the board. He served as the board's Chairman Emeritus from 2004-2007 and was board chairman from 1984-2003. He is the Company's former president and chief executive officer. He joined the Company in 1959.
He is the former president and director of the Southern Cemetery Association, member of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association and member of the Cremation Association of North America. He is the former president of the Louisiana Cemetery Association, member of the Texas and Florida Cemetery Associations, member of the National Funeral Directors Association and former member of the National Selected Morticians. He is a former member of the Southern Funeral Directors Association and officer of the Louisiana Cemetery Board.
In addition to his business activities, he has memberships in and serves on the boards and committees of a number of professional, educational, charitable, civic and social organizations including the Archbishop's Community Appeal, the Boy Scouts of America, The New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Greater New Orleans Area United Way and the World Trade Center in New Orleans. He serves on the Tulane University Board of Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund. He is an honorary member and served on the Board of Governors for the Tulane Medical Center. He received a bachelor of business administration degree from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Thomas J. Crawford was appointed president, CEO and a member of the board in February 2007. He has more than 27 years of business management experience focused on strategy, operations improvement, sales and marketing.
Prior to joining Stewart, he served on behalf of Sorenson Capital Partners, a private equity group, as CEO of Erickson Companies, a regional residential framing company with manufacturing operations in Arizona, California and Nevada. He was Chairman, CEO and President of publicly-traded The York Group, Inc., one of the largest casket manufacturers in the U.S., from 2000 until its merger with Matthews International Corporation in 2002. In addition, he served in various positions with the Batesville Casket Company, a leading manufacturer and supplier of caskets, including Hardwood Products Group Vice President and General Manager, New Business Development Vice President, Marketing Vice President and Logistics Vice President.
He served as Corporate Development Director for both the Batesville Casket Company and its parent company, Hillenbrand Industries.
Senior Executive Vice President, President of Corporate Division, Chief Financial Officer
Thomas M. Kitchen has served as a member of the board of directors since 2004. He is a member of the investment committee. He was an investment management consultant with Equitas Capital Advisors, LLC in New Orleans. During a 25-year career with Avondale Industries, Inc., the nation's fifth largest shipbuilder, he served as president, chief financial officer and board member.
He has served as a board member for the New Orleans Regional Chamber, the Metrovision Economic Development Partnership, the New Orleans Business Council, the Jefferson Business Council, the Financial Executives Institute and AICPA/Louisiana Society of CPAs. He is also a member of the American Shipbuilding Association in Washington, D.C.
President and Chief Executive Officer Liberty Bank and Trust Company
Alden J. McDonald Jr. has served as a member of the board of directors since 2001. He is a member of the audit committee, compensation committee and the corporate governance and nominating committee. He has served as president and chief executive officer of Liberty Bank and Trust Company since its inception in 1972.
He has served on the boards of many corporations and financial institutions and agencies, including the Port of New Orleans, Entergy New Orleans Advisory Board, the Fannie Mae Foundation, the American Bankers Association, the National Bankers Association and the Louisiana Bankers Association. He has served as co-chair of the Greater New Orleans Education Foundation and as president of the New Orleans Jobs Initiative. He has given his time and expertise in service to, among others, the Archdiocese of New Orleans Finance Council, the Southern University of New Orleans Advisory Council and the board of Tulane University School of Medicine.
Dean and J.F. Jr. and Jessie Lee Seinsheimer Chair A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
James W. McFarland has served as a member of the board of directors since 1995. He is the chair of the compensation committee and a member of the investment committee. He is dean and the Jessie Lee Seinsheimer Chair in Business at Tulane University's A. B. Freeman School of Business. He is a director of Sizeler Property Investors (NYSE).
Previously, he served as the dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Houston. McFarland worked as an econometrician with the Presidential Commission on the Nation's Water Resources and as a staff member at the University of California Los Alamos National Laboratory. He has also served on the faculties of Texas A&M University, the University of Rhode Island and the University of New Mexico and on the board of directors of American Indemnity Financial Corporation and Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
Retired Chief Financial Officer Stewart Enterprises, Inc.
Ronald H. Patron was elected to the board of directors of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., at the Company's 2006 annual shareholders meeting. He is a member of the corporate governance and nominating committee, the audit committee and the investment committee.
He formerly worked for Stewart Enterprises, Inc., serving as chief financial officer, president of the corporate division and a member of the board from 1987 through 1998 and then as a consultant until his retirement in 2001. Before joining Stewart, he served as chief financial officer and then president and chief executive officer of Enertech, Inc. He has been a member of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association, the Southern Cemetery Association, the Financial Executives Institute and the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
Senior Vice President, Client Advisory Services Capital One Bank
Michael O. Read has served as a member of the board of directors since 1991. He is a member of the audit committee, the compensation committee and the corporate governance and nominating committee. He is a senior vice president of Client Advisory Services, in the private client group at Capital One Bank.
Prior to joining Capital One, he was a vice president of Marsh USA, Inc. (formerly Johnson & Higgins of Louisiana, Inc.) from 1994 to 2000. From 1968 until 1993, he was a partner in the law firm of Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz, where his practice was concentrated in the areas of real estate law, commercial transactions and probate and estate related matters. He is a member of the New Orleans and Louisiana State Bar Associations, and is also a member of the New Orleans Estate Planning Council. He serves as a member of the Board of Regents of Our Lady of Holy Cross College, the Board of Trustees of the Tulane University Hospital and Clinic and as a trustee of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
President and Chief Executive Officer First NBC Bank
Ashton J. Ryan, Jr. was elected to the board of directors in December of 2004. He is the chair of both the audit committee and the investment committee and a member of the corporate governance and nominating committee. He is the former president and chief executive officer of Firstrust Corporation and its lead subsidiary First Bank and Trust.
He was previously vice chairman of Bank One, Louisiana and chairman of its New Orleans market. Prior to its acquisition by Bank One, he served as president and chief executive officer of First National Bank of Commerce. Ryan spent the first 20 years of his career with Arthur Andersen and Company, specializing in auditing and consulting for several financial institutions.
Ryan is the current Chairman of the Board of Delgado Community College Foundation, the Capital Campaign of the Friends of the New Orleans Recreation Department and past chairman of East Jefferson General Hospital Foundation, Junior Achievement, Tulane Association of Business Alumni, Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Comprehensive Central City Initiative. He is also on the board of many civic and business organizations, including Junior Achievement, Tulane Freeman School of Business, Orthodontic Centers of America, the University of New Orleans Foundation, Greater New Orleans, Inc., the New Orleans Economic Development, Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, Boys Hope/Girls Hope, and the East Jefferson General Hospital Board.
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