Episode #541: Jay Jacobson

Jay Jacobson is a funeral director, entrepreneur, and leadership voice shaped by moments where pressure, grief, and responsibility collide. Jay has testified before the United States Senate on funeral ethics and draws on decades of experience in disaster response, business ownership, and mentoring leaders to explore what leadership looks like when it actually matters. He’s the author of Lead by Legendary Example, a story-driven book on integrity, presence, service, and legacy in real-world leadership. He’s spent decades working at the intersection of grief, crisis, ethics, and responsibility; places where decisions carry moral weight, where words matter, and where presence is not optional. As a funeral director, he served families at their most vulnerable. As a disaster responder, he worked in the aftermath of mass-casualty events that reshaped how the profession responds under pressure. As an entrepreneur, he’s built and led businesses where trust, reputation, and human judgment matter more than speed or scale. That lived experience is why Jay was asked to testify before the United States Senate on funeral ethics. Not as a pundit, but as a practitioner who understood what happens when systems fail people, and what leadership looks like when it doesn’t.