President

As the former Forethought Regional Manager for the Northwest, Chris is no stranger to Advance Planning sales and marketing. Chris has been working with independent funeral homes and cemeteries, assisting them in marketing and pre-need program development since 2001. Prior to his tenure at Forethought, Chris’ ten year consultative sales experience in the food industry also centered on marketing and sales development for independent firms. In May of 2009, Chris seized the opportunity to become an entrepreneur by taking ownership of Northwest Planning Partners, a regional insurance agency and marketing company in the Northwest. Chris continues to work with independent clients focused on continuous growth and positive results.

Partner

Christie began her career in our profession in 1991 as a preneed cemetery counselor. She quickly moved up the ranks to become Assistant Manager, then Sales Manager, helping develop a highly successful preneed funeral program from the ground up. She has worked in both Corporate and Independent arenas. After many years of successful selling, she served Funeral Home and Cemetery clients as the Marketing Consultant for Automatic Wilbert Vault. Christie used her consultative sales acumen to develop presentations and selling skills tools for Funeral Directors and cemetery counselors. In 2011 she created Sound Market Solutions, a preneed consulting firm specializing in preneed market share development. She formed a relationship with Cairn Partners and provides her consultative services to an even broader clientele base. These assets make Christie an excellent strategic partner and trusted advisor.

Partner

Laurent Kuzarov is a native Oregonian with extensive sales and marketing experience within and outside of the deathcare profession. After working extensively in sales and technology development, Laurent found his home at Cairn in 2014. His previous experience in the pre-need arena prompts Laurent to think “outside of the box”. Laurent’s software development and web design skills bring a new and exciting level of service offerings to Cairn clients. Laurent is a real problem solver, but more importantly, a trusted advisor.

Partner

Reggie joined Cairn in July of 2016 at which time he had more than 20 years of funeral profession experience. Reggie began his career in the funeral profession with more than 18 years at Forethought Financial Services. More recently Reggie was a Regional Representative for Batesville Casket Company. His experience with sales and marketing goods and services to consumers makes him an invaluable asset and a trusted advisor for his funeral home clients. Reggie is an extremely important addition to the Cairn team as he will be covering all of California.

Partner

After a decade in sales, marketing and promotion, Bill started working with funeral homes in 1998 when he was hired by Forethought Financial Services. In 2013, he moved to Batesville Casket Company and lead a successful sales team in the Midwest for three years. Bill then brought his marketing experience to Funeral Innovations where he helped clients nationwide shine using social media. Bill returned to preneed at Global Atlantic in late 2016 until he joined Cairn Partners in June 2018. During his widely-varied career, Bill has already worked closely with many current members of our team. It’s exciting to reunite again and continue expanding the Cairn Partners footprint into new cities and states.

Partner

Kevin, a seasoned professional, brings over 25 years of funeral profession experience. Kevin began his career as a Funeral Director before joining Forethought Financial Services in 1998 where he worked with funeral homes and cemeteries in many of the Western states. Kevin has also had experience in funeral merchandising as a Regional Representative for Batesville Casket Company. His extensive experience in sales, marketing, and as a funeral director make him an invaluable asset and a trusted advisor for his funeral home clients. Kevin plays an important role in our organization as he consults and works with funeral professionals in the mountain states.

Partner

Jeff joined Cairn in September 2018 after 5 years as a Regional Representative at Batesville Casket Company. Previous to Batesville, Jeff spent 20 years in the banking profession, including several years as a Regional VP with Bank of America. As a long time sales and marketing professional, Jeff’s ability to quickly develop long-term relationships along with his financial background makes him a trusted advisor to the firms he works with. Jeff is an important part of the Cairn team, serving numerous firms throughout the Northwest.

Partner

Tom brings over 25 years of funeral profession experience to Cairn Partners. He began his career as a licensed funeral director in Pennsylvania, where he served hundreds of families arranging and pre-planning funerals. Tom also has experience in funeral merchandising as a regional sales representative for Batesville Casket Company and in the past ten years, he was field sales manager for Matthews Cemetery Products. Tom’s extensive experience in sales, marketing and as a licensed funeral director make him a valuable and trusted advisor for his funeral home clients. Tom plays an important role in the Cairn team as he consults and works with funeral and cemetery professionals in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast states.

Business Development/Partner

Delana joined Cairn Partners in April of 2018 taking on the newly developed role of Director of Outreach and Development. She brings over 20 years of public relations experience spanning multiple professions including banking, insurance and most recently deathcare. Delana’s primary focus will be to cultivate extraordinary Advance Planners. Through proven practices, Delana will mentor Planners to achieve an optimum level of performance and strengthen positive habits while enhancing skill sets. Delana brings Midwestern neighborly values to her role and places the emphasis of Outreach and Development where it matters most—the client.

Advanced Planning Trainer

Dan joined Cairn Partners in April 2019 as Sales Manager for one of our client firms. Prior to joining Cairn, Dan was a Sales Manager for a large Funeral Home/Cemetery combo in the Seattle market. He has more than 40 years of experience in marketing, management, computer technology, and sales training. While as a Sales Manager, Dan was an active participant in the design and development of the Cairn “Remote Visit Dashboard” used by our client firms. In August of 2021, Dan took the role of Remote Visit Dashboard Trainer, combining his experience in sales training and use of technology to meet Preneed families where they are.

Operations Manager

Kristin joined Cairn Partners in January of 2018 but is no stranger to Funeral Service. Her scope of experience includes administrative support and management in both funeral and cemetery operations as well as preneed sales administration. Kristin’s career in funeral service has spanned over 15 years. Most recently she was employed at a large Cemetery and Funeral Home Combination in California. In her role as Executive Assistant and Manager, Kristin was responsible for overseeing the support of over 100 sales counselors. We are very fortunate to have Kristin on board at Cairn in her new role working with our Field Partners, Vendor Partners and of course Funeral Home Partners.

Recruiting Coordinator

Kathy joined Cairn Partners in January 2017 as the designated recruiter. She has more than 23 years of experience in marketing, management and direct sales. In addition to recruiting, Kathy has real-life B-to-C sales experience as a realtor in Southwest Washington. More recently, Kathy worked with Chris Rose providing marketing and sales development for independent firms in the Northwest. Her unique experiences in both consultative sales and business development gives Kathy insight into the required assets and qualities of successful Advance Planners. When recruiting, Kathy is keenly aware of the specific needs of our client partners as well as the prospective Advance Planners. Her goal is to find a match that will be mutually beneficial to both parties.

Administrative Coordinator

Corie joined Cairn Partners in June 2018 to help with the growing need for Partner and Funeral Home Support. After almost 3 years working for Global Atlantic Financial Group in the Preneed Licensing & Contracting department, she transitioned her life from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Corie brings her knowledge and skills about agent licensing and customer service from Global Atlantic Financial Group to her role with Cairn Partners. She is excited to continue working with and building relationships with the Cairn team and Advance Planners.

RV Dashboard Architect

Tammy joined Cairn in April 2020, after 29 years at the Boeing Company where she worked in the Employee Programs; Finance; Computing; and Customer Support departments. Her primary focus was project management and executive communications. Tammy recently relocated from the Seattle area to Eastern Washington, and is enjoying the opportunity to apply her skills to a new industry.

CRM Specialist

Kim joined Cairn Partners in May 2021 in the role of CRM Specialist as the need for more focus on CRM for our Funeral Home Partners grows. She brings over 15 years of experience in database and project management, vendor relations management, and customer service focus across multiple industries. Kim brings southern hospitality to her role and is excited to apply her skills with the Cairn Team in the Deathcare Profession.

Administrative Support

Sam joined Cairn Partners in July of 2021 in the role of Administration Support. In addition to her cemetery industry experience, Sam also worked in inventory, data management, bookkeeping, customer service and sales. Sam is excited to continue her career in the Deathcare Profession with Cairn Partners, and to provide world class support to her team and our Cairn clients.

Administrative Support

Mikki brings over ten years of administrative experience, with the past four years working for a Fortune 500 company where she supported multiple departments. Mikki looks forward to adding her organizational, teamwork and customer service skills to the team and is excited to support our clients in the funeral industry.