Aurora Casket CEO Departs As Merger Continues

By Mike Perleberg Michael Quinn has left Aurora Casket to become president and chief executive officer at AM Conservation Group, Inc. (Aurora, Ind.) - Aurora Casket Company’s president and CEO is leaving for another company. Michael R. Quinn took the same roles with AM Conservation Group, Inc. in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, January 15. That company is owned by Kohlberg & Company, which had owned Aurora Casket up until last year. “I am thrilled to join an industry-leading company with such significant expansion potential,” Quinn said in a release. “AMCG has strong relationships with major utilities and energy efficiency programs, and I am excited to help AMCG work with its customers to continue to provide best-in-class services and products while successfully executing its strategic vision.” Quinn became Aurora Casket’s chief executive officer in 2012 when the company was purchased by Kohlberg from the Backman and Barrott families, which had owned Aurora Casket since it was founded in 1890. Prior to his tenure with Aurora, Quinn was the CFO of United States Infrastructure Corporation, a leading provider of infrastructure locating services for public utilities, and vice president and general manager of Invisible Fence, a division of Innotek Inc. Quinn previously held a number of senior management positions across various middle-market companies, including president of StairMaster Health and Fitness Products. Matthews International paid $214 million to acquire Aurora last August. The combined company is called Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions. In a report to investors on earnings for fiscal 2015, Matthews CEO Joseph C. Bartolacci said that integration efforts with Aurora are progressing well and remain on track to achieve long term objectives. Those objectives, as announced at the time of the acquisition, included $20 million annually in cost synergies. RELATED STORIES: Aurora Casket Merger To Be Completed Aug. 19 Aurora Casket Company Acquired By Matthews Memorialization