Our Leadership

Joseph C. Bartolacci, age 64, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in 2006, and has served on the Board of Directors since 2005. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company since 2005. Prior thereto, he held various positions within Matthews, including President, Casket Division; Executive Vice President of Matthews; President, Matthews Europe; President, Caggiati, S.p.A. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Matthews) and General Counsel of Matthews. Mr. Bartolacci received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Saint Vincent College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Bartolacci serves on the M&A Review Committee of the Board. He also serves on the boards of various subsidiaries of Matthews. Other than the Company, Mr. Bartolacci serves on the board of Federated Hermes, a global investment management company and publicly-traded 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.

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.

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. In February of 2025, Brian was also appointed Corporate Secretary for Matthews.

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.  In over 20-years of directing the legal function for Matthews, Brian has helped lead over 80 acquisition and divestiture initiatives for the Corporation.

In addition, Brian is responsible for developing and overseeing the Corporation's evolving compliance programs, including anti-corruption, export controls, insider trading, anti-trust, trade secret protection and more.

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.