Our Leadership

Joseph C. Bartolacci was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Matthews in 2006 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2005. In his current role, he provides a unique perspective on Board decisions focused on the strategic direction of the company. He has firsthand operating experience in many of Matthew’s diverse global businesses and a well-developed understanding of the industries in which Matthews operates. Joe additionally looks at opportunities within those industries to drive shareholder value.

Before his appointment to CEO, Joe has held various other positions within Matthews, including President and Chief Operating Officer; Executive Vice President of Matthews; Casket Division President; Matthews Europe President; Caggiati, S.p.A. President; and General Counsel of Matthews.

Joe received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Saint Vincent College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh. Outside of Matthews, Joe serves on the board of Federated Hermes, a publicly traded global investment management company.

Ronald C. Awenowicz, a seasoned human resources leader, joined Matthews in February 2015 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Through a global service delivery model, Ron is responsible for crafting and implementing visionary HR strategies. His areas of oversight encompass corporate communications, culture and change management initiatives, diversity and inclusion efforts, talent acquisition and retention strategies, compensation and benefits programs, HR information systems and data analytics, HR service center operations, compliance and employee relations, as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, including environmental, health, and safety programs.

Prior to his current role, Ron held the position of Vice President of Human Resources Americas at Matthews. In this capacity, he led employee relations, business partner initiatives, and talent acquisition programs. Additionally, he provided direction and oversight in measuring manager effectiveness, driving culture initiatives, monitoring employee engagement, and ensuring legal compliance.

Before joining Matthews, Ron garnered extensive experience in various HR management roles across the financial services, manufacturing, finance, and retail banking industries. This diverse background has equipped him with a well-rounded perspective and the ability to navigate complex organizational landscapes.

Ron holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from California University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh. His educational credentials, combined with his professional experience, have honed his strategic thinking and decision-making abilities, enabling him to drive organizational success through effective people management strategies.

Gregory S. Babe, who has served as Matthews’ Chief Technology Officer since November 2015, was recently appointed Group President, Matthews Industrial Technologies segment. In his new role as Group President for the Industrial Technologies segment and Head of Matthews Engineering, Greg is leading the commercialization of new applied engineering technologies serving the fast-growing green energy and electric vehicle markets. In addition, Greg has been on Matthews’ Board of Directors since November 2010. He possesses a strong background in manufacturing, regulatory and government affairs, additionally serving as a member of the Board’s Finance and Special Committees at Matthews. Prior to his current role, Greg served as Matthew’s Executive Vice President of Global Information Technology and Integration.

Before working at Matthews, Greg served as Chief Executive Officer of Orbital Engineering, Inc., a privately held engineering services company. He also previously held the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of Bayer Corporation and Bayer Material Science LLC for nearly eight years.

Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University. Outside of Matthews, Greg serves on the board of the Benedum Foundation, where he is a member of the investment committee. He also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Liquid X Printed Metals, Inc., a Carnegie Mellon University spin-out.

Davor Brkovich joined Matthews in 2017. As Chief Information Officer, he is responsible for the Matthews Enterprise IT function, which includes applications support, IT infrastructure, strategic programs, cyber security and compliance. 

Davor began at Matthews as the Director of Global IT Infrastructure. In this position, he led a number of transformation and efficiency initiatives. Prior to joining Matthews, Davor held various IT leadership roles in CPG companies and professional services firms. He was most recently the Head of IT Operations for the Kraft Heinz Company. Collectively, Davor has more than twenty-five years of experience in IT operations, IT infrastructure, information security & compliance and IT audit.

Davor has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in information systems both from Duquesne University. Outside of Matthews, Davor is an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy graduate school.

Steven D. Gackenbach has served as Group President for Matthews Memorialization since 2011. In this role, he leads the Matthews’ Cemetery Products Division and the Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions Division, establishing strategic direction and leading the segment’s global operational and commercial activities. Since Steve assumed leadership of the segment, Matthews Memorialization has grown its revenue by over 70% has been become the leading supplier to the death care industry.

Prior to his current position, Steve was Matthews Memorialization’s Chief Commercial Officer. Before joining Matthews, Steve worked for Kraft Foods for nearly 20 years where he held roles in general management, strategy and marketing.

Steve graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Reena Gurtner serves as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In this position, she is responsible for the vision, development and governance of the global human resources strategy for SGK, Saueressig Group and Talent & Organization Effectiveness. Reena joined SGK in 2013 and brings more than 25 years of international HR experience to Matthews, having worked across diverse industries around the world.

Reena was previously the Vice President of Human Resources of Matthews’ SGK business for the Asia, Middle East and Africa markets. In this role, she was critical in developing strategies, implementing innovative business solutions and driving operational excellence for the expansion and profitability of the region.

Prior to joining Matthews, Reena worked as the Global Senior Vice President of Human Resources for a shipping, oil and gas company and a digital marketing firm. She also held various HR leadership roles with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts across the globe.

Reena has a master’s degree in human resources management from Temple University and is a certified Professional Executive Coach.

Since becoming SGK’s president in 2017, Gary R. Kohl has led SGK in the most significant transformation in its history, reshaping the company to lead in the constantly disruptive communications industry.

Throughout SGK’s continuing transformation, Gary has worked to ensure that operations are tightly synced worldwide with a new business strategy. Through this, technologies are keenly focused on enabling marketing operations excellence, with a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion. Gary has also led the way in preparing the organization for change as a continuous growth process. Under his leadership, SGK has become a more agile, outcome-focused business partner to its clients, helping them simplify their marketing to amplify their brands and grow.

Prior to his current position, Gary was Executive Vice President of Global Development at SGK. In that role, he made a major impact on the executive leadership team, developing strategies to accelerate growth and profitability across our regions.

Before joining SGK, Gary’s background includes executive and senior-level positions in sales, marketing and general management. Most recently, he served as Group Senior Vice President of digital solutions, global packaging and printed electronics groups at RR Donnelley.

Gary earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University and completed executive coursework at Columbia University and The Kellogg School of Management. Gary also achieved Champion Level Six Sigma Certification.

Lee Lane is the newly appointed Group President for Matthews Industrial Automation and Matthews Environmental Solutions. The Industrial Automation business is dedicated to providing advanced software and engineered solutions for marking, coding, material handling, and warehouse execution systems. While the Environmental Solutions business specializes in technologically advanced crematoria equipment, waste-to-energy conversion, and emission control systems.

In this role, Lee leads the delivery of each division’s long-term growth strategy with oversight of global product management, operations and commercial activities.

Lee relocated from Boston to Matthews’ global headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after more than thirty years with Rockwell Automation where he started as an Application Engineer and moved into a wide range of functions including Marketing, Product Management, Product Security and most recently, running one of Rockwell Automations business units. Lee leverages his deep industrial automation expertise and leadership at the world’s second largest automation provider to build on a strong growth strategy for the Matthews Automation business, accelerating it as a significant growth engine for the Matthews International portfolio.

Lee earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maine. Born and raised in Bangor, Maine, Lee is married with two children.

Steven F. Nicola has been Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer for Matthews International since 2003. He also serves on the boards of various subsidiaries of Matthews International Corporation. Steve joined Matthews in 1992 and was previously Vice President, Accounting and Finance (2001) and Corporate Controller (1995). Prior to Matthews, he was a manager with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP).

In addition, Steve currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Robert Morris University.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Robert Morris College in 1982

Brian D. Walters was appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel in 2021. In this role, he directs and manages all legal matters for Matthews, both nationally and internationally. Brian serves as the Secretary for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of Matthews' Board of Directors. Brian is also responsible for overseeing the Corporation's evolving compliance programs, including anti-corruption, export controls, insider trading, anti-trust, and more.

Prior to his current role, Brian was the Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He first joined Matthews in 2005 as Corporate Counsel at a time when Matthews' global expansion was just beginning. Before this, Brian worked in private practice for ten years.

A graduate of Boston College and Duquesne University School of Law, Brian was a member of the Order of Barristers and a published author and editor of the Duquesne Law Review.