Foundation Partners Group CEO John D. Smith: “We’re Becoming One United Company”

When John D. Smith stepped into his role as CEO of Foundation Partners Group (FPG) earlier this year, he inherited more than 260 funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries across the country — and a team that had already weathered years of acquisition-fueled expansion and industry evolution. Six months in, Smith says the company is entering a new phase — one defined not by rapid growth through acquisition, but by unifying, refining, and re-engaging with the communities it serves.

“We’ve been an acquisition-driven holding company,” Smith explained in a recent interview with Connecting Directors during the 2025 National Funeral Directors Association Convention & Expo. “Now, we’re pivoting and becoming a branded, united operating company.”

That shift, Smith emphasized, marks a significant cultural and operational transformation. 

“Before, you’re going out and you’re buying your EBITDA — your profit, your market share,” he said. “Now we’re saying, hey, we’re going to pause on acquisitions and take all this stuff we have and turn it into a real operating company. We’re going to grow our market share and profitability by serving families better than our competitors — with the team we already have.”

Re-engaging the Foundation Partners community

Earlier this year, FPG created its Community Advisory Board, composed of industry and community leaders who bring an outside perspective to the organization’s strategy and direction. The board’s insights, Smith said, are already proving invaluable.

“They gave us feedback on how we’re thinking about our business, how we’re going to grow,” he shared. “They love how we’re getting reconnected in the community, and they’re really excited to help us with that. It’s going well.”

For Smith, who came to the deathcare space after leadership roles in other industries, building those relationships — both inside and outside the organization — is central to FPG’s transformation.

“I’ve learned that the people in this profession are great,” he said. “They love what we do, they love serving families, and they want to win. This company’s been through so much, and we still have a team that’s engaged, connected, and excited about the direction we’re going. We’ve laid out our path forward, how we’re going to grow, and they have a lot of excitement about that.”

“Transformations don’t happen before people do”

Smith’s approach to leadership is grounded in a philosophy he’s carried throughout his career: “Organizations don’t transform in a sustained way before people do.”

“Irrespective of what industry you’re in, it’s all about people,” he explained. “We’ve gotten here because people were doing certain things — not good or bad, just the way things were done. Now, we’re saying, ‘Here’s the outcome we want and here’s why we need to move this way.’”

That “why,” Smith said, is the foundation of change. Once people understand it, they can begin to shift their mindset. 

“If you know the why, then you start asking, ‘How do I change my mindset from what I believed before to now?’” he explained. “When people get there, they realize, ‘I need a different skill set,’ and that’s where training and coaching come in. Then, once they’ve got the mindset and the skill set, we give them the tool set — the systems and processes that make it possible. That’s how you change a company of this size.”

Leading through change

Of course, transformation — especially in a people-centered profession like the deathcare profession — comes with both excitement and uncertainty. Smith acknowledged that reactions among FPG’s funeral home teams have been mixed, but still largely positive.

“It’s two-sided,” he said. “On one hand, they love that we’re focused on them — that we’re investing in our people, our facilities, and our technology to help them do their jobs easier and faster and take care of families. But at the same time, they’re human. They’re saying, ‘Wait a minute, this feels different. You’re going to measure me on that now? Your expectations of me are different?’ You get both sides — and that’s part of growth.”

That growth, Smith said, isn’t just about financial performance; it’s about creating a unified culture built on shared purpose and accountability. 

“I can say one thing, but if it doesn’t show up in the behavior of our leaders, it’s not going to work,” he noted. “So I’ve spent a lot of time helping my leaders get there — making sure they’re showing up differently. It’s working, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Smith’s long-term vision for Foundation Partners Group centers on sustainability — not just operationally, but culturally. He wants the company to be known for delivering consistently excellent service across its locations while honoring the individuality of each community it serves.

For more information on Foundation Partners Group, reach out to the FPG team at https://foundationpartners.com/contact-us/.

Every so often when I am researching for articles I stumble across something that really fascinates me.  Well, it happened last week and I enjoyed using the information to decipher what the “Average Size” of a funeral home is/was in the United States according to data compiled in 2023 which means that most of the data is from 2022.

I came across this listing of data for state compiliation of funeral homes and cemeteries that was derived from the United States Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and IBIS World Industry Reports.  If you don’t know about IBIS World, they are a global research firm whose website states that their, “analysts leverage economic, demographic and market data, then add analytical and forward-looking insight, to help organizations of all types make better business decisions”.

I learned of IBIS World during my time on the Board of Directors for the University of Minnesota and spent time at the university’s Carlson School of Management which had a subscription for students and faculty (and board members) to use.  They are fascinating documents and I enjoyed dissecting the funeral, cremation, and cemetery editions every year.

According to the data from those sets of documents a total “Economic Impact” of funeral services, cemeteries, and cremations could be estimated for the United States.  The data suggested that for 2022:

• The United States had 15,703 funeral homes
• 106,188 people were employed by those funeral homes
• 76.2% of funeral homes were family or privately owned
• Funeral homes generated a total revenue of $16.096 billion in the United States
• Cemeteries generate $4.250 billion in the United States
• From those numbers, an “Average Revenue per Funeral Home” can be established.  That number would be $1.025 million per funeral home.

So, by revenue, the “Average Size” funeral home in the United States in 2022 would be just over a million dollars in revenue.  If one would add the average inflation rate of 2023 (3.4%) and 2024 (2.9%) to that number, the average size funeral home in the United States for 2025, as determined by revenue, would be approximately $1.09 million in revenue.

The statistics provided allow one to do this for each and every state.  I simply took the “Revenue” number listed and divided by the number of funeral homes in the state to get an “average size” funeral home.  Here was some of my findings for “average size” per state:

• Minnesota:      $ 937,540 per funeral home
• Texas:     $ 1,123,000 per funeral home
• Vermont:   $ 675,500 per funeral home
• California:  $ 1,494,396 per funeral home

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  Whenever this much data is compiled there is bound to be some that is not totally accurate.  Because of that, I would argue that these numbers are “not absolutely” accurate but do “give a reflection” of the industry across the country.

When I was in my funeral home management days I loved finding statistics like these because they gave me some type of indication where my funeral home fell in the realm of the funeral home universe.

At some point in time, I realized that I managed a “larger than average” funeral home and I was able to use that to my advantage in negotiating supplier arrangements.  I found that it just made sense that if my funeral home could provide more casket sales to a supplier or more preneed insurance policies to an insurer I was more valuable to those suppliers than smaller firms. . . . and if they wanted to do business with my firm then I should get better pricing that a smaller funeral home firm if I used their products exclusively.

Over the years, simply knowing where I sat in the hierarchy of funeral homes was financially beneficial to me with suppliers and also beneficial when it came time to sell because I knew what firms would be interested in a firm of my particular size.

I find data useful. . . . and the more you have, the better decisions you can make.

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