Autumn Leaves Appoints Jessica Akaah as COO, John Barbee as Chief Administrative Officer

by Jeff Shaw

IRVING, Texas — Autumn Leaves, a memory care operator based in Irving, has named Jessica Akaah as chief operating officer and John Barbee as chief administrative officer. Barbee will also continue to serve in his role as president.

“Our growth over the last 18 months — in terms of locations and occupancy — accelerated the plan to restructure our executive leadership team,” says Mitchell Warren, Autumn Leaves’ chairman and CEO.

Akaah joined Autumn Leaves in 2007 and opened the first Chicagoland community in Crystal Lake as executive director. She was promoted to regional director of operations, and later served as vice president of HR and vice president of operations. She has a background as a licensed clinical social worker and more than a decade of experience as an owner-operator in memory care. 

Barbee, who joined Autumn Leaves in 2006, brings three decades of experience in real estate development and construction, plus an additional decade directly in senior living operations. He has opened 45 Autumn Leaves communities during his tenure. He was promoted to president in 2017. 

As CAO, Barbee assumes responsibility for shared services, which include legal, information technology, marketing, and human resources functions.

Warren is serving as interim chief financial officer while a nationwide search for a new CFO is under way, which will complete the restructure of the executive leadership team.

Autumn Leaves operates nearly 50 memory care and assisted living communities in nine states.

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