Legacy.com appoints Alan Press as CEO

Sep 15, 2022

The former Economist and Newsweek exec succeeds Legacy's founder Stopher Bartol, who becomes executive chairman

CHICAGOLegacy.com Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Press as its new CEO.

Press’s impressive career re-imagining and scaling businesses has included executive roles at American Express, The Economist Group, and recently as president of Newsweek. He has served for the last four years as Legacy’s COO and president.

During his tenure with Legacy, Press has led efforts to diversify the company’s product offerings and further expand its remarkable reach, which includes active relationships with 9 in 10 U.S. newspapers, more than half of all U.S. funeral homes, and more than 40 million consumers each month.

“Legacy is the clear leader in online memorialization, yet in many ways we are just getting started,” Press said. “Our goal is to help people everywhere more richly honor the lives of friends and loved ones, and, along with our partners, to offer support and services navigating other related end-of-life matters.”

Press succeeds Stopher Bartol, who founded the company in 1998 and will continue to serve the company as executive chairman. In an announcement to employees, Bartol praised Press’s dedication to Legacy’s partner media companies, funeral homes and consumers, and his deep commitment to the company’s mission and values.

“As a founder, no aspect of my own legacy is more important than helping to build our resilient, customer-focused, forward-thinking team and culture, and for passing my role to a CEO who not only embodies the things that have made the company successful, but who is already building upon them in ways that will ensure that Legacy’s best days are ahead,” Bartol said.

Legacy.com is the global leader in online obituaries with over 40 million visitors each month. The company provides support and obituary-related services to thousands of newspapers and funeral homes in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K., to help people express condolences and share remembrances of loved ones. Legacy’s partners benefit from unparalleled scale and expertise that delivers industry-leading products, innovative e-commerce solutions, and award-winning customer service. Legacy.com is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.