KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — McGriff, a full-service insurance broker, has hired Michael Welz as a producer in the organization’s senior living practice in Pennsylvania. With nearly 15 years of experience in insurance and financial services, including investment advisory expertise, Welz joins McGriff from another national broker where he served as a consultant/producer based in Philadelphia. He previously served as director of investor relations at Verdis Investment Management. Welz earned his bachelor’s degree in organizational management and marketing from La Salle University.
Company News
DALLAS — Lifespace Communities has hired Mike Roach as the company’s chief strategy officer. Roach will play a role in the development, oversight and implementation of strategic planning throughout the Lifespace organization and markets. He will assist in identifying, assessing, developing and managing strategies to expand Lifespace’s capabilities to improve competitiveness and business performance. This work will include product innovation, market expansion, capability-building, partnership creation, mergers, acquisitions and diversification. Most recently, Roach served as vice president of corporate strategy and planning for 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., where he developed an enterprise strategy …
Building ‘a Better Mousetrap’ By Jeff Shaw Elevate Senior Living is a company with one goal in mind: make seniors housing affordable for middle-class people. The introductory press release for the company — which also revealed the groundbreaking of its first project in Clearwater, Florida — said the target market is “the retired police officer, fireman, schoolteacher and everyday American.” Elevate plans to build 11 middle-market seniors housing communities over the next five years. Of course, the industry has grappled with this issue for years. In 2017, the National Investment …
DALLAS — Three, an architecture firm based in Dallas that works in the seniors housing space, has announced it is expanding into interior design, and has hired Sarah Bay as director to lead the charge. A registered interior designer with experience in hospitality, corporate and restaurant projects, Bay brings knowledge of space planning; building and code requirements; finish and furnishing selection and procurement; and coordination with project teams and stakeholder groups. Bay holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Texas and an MBA from Colorado Technical …
CHICAGO — Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors, a Chicago-based brokerage firm, has promoted co-founders Ben Firestone and Jacob Gehl to chief executive officer and chief vision officer, respectively. Additionally, longtime team members Ryan Chase, Michael Segal and Steve Thomes are now partners and executive managing directors. Firestone will continue to focus efforts on leading the firm’s management team and perfecting Blueprint’s service offering to continue its mission of delivering optimal solutions. In the role of chief vision officer, Gehl is primarily tasked with developing and executing the firm’s long-term growth …
Ventas Appoints Michael Embler to Board of Directors, Passes on Nominations from Activist Shareholder
CHICAGO — Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has appointed Michael Embler, former chief investment officer of Franklin Mutual Advisors, to its board of directors. Jay Gellert, who has served on the Ventas board since 2001, will retire from the board at the company’s annual meeting in May. Embler will serve on Ventas’ investment and audit committees. Ventas also announced that Melody Barnes is expected to serve as chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, effective at the company’s annual meeting. Embler, 57, is an institutional investor with 30 years of …
Staffing, Data, Partnerships Are the Three Keys to Seniors Housing Success, Says Pathway’s Justin Dickinson
LOS ANGELES — For an investor and operator, the most important factors a seniors housing company needs to have down to a science are staff recruitment and accountability, proper use of data and strong partnerships, according to Justin Dickinson, executive vice president with Pathway To Living. “There are three near-term goals that I’m focused on: operations, data and growth,” said Dickinson, who was named as successor to retiring CEO Jerry Finis as head of Pathway to Living earlier this year. His comments came during his keynote address at France Media’s …
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — National Health Investors Inc. (NYSE: NHI) has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Welltower (NYSE: WELL) regarding a lawsuit over a portfolio of Holiday Retirement properties. The agreement sets forth principal terms by which NHI and Welltower agree to operate until the execution of a final settlement agreement resolves the litigation. The agreement states that both REITs wish to transition the 16 communities to new tenants. The two companies will cooperate to sell one of the communities. Meanwhile, Welltower will pay NHI $6.9 million, which will …
SALT LAKE CITY — Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BRDG) has launched a $75 million program to acquire, develop and operate needs-based seniors housing assets within the United States. As part of the venture, StepStone Real Estate co-invested in an existing portfolio managed by Salt Lake City-based Bridge and intends to help build the platform by co-investing in other seniors housing assets identified by Bridge in the future. “Bridge’s partnership with StepStone represents a strategic milestone as we continue to expand our needs-based seniors housing strategy,” says Robb Chapin, …
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — QX Global Group, a Bloomfield-based business process outsourcing company, has acquired an 80 percent stake in Austin, Texas-based Chazey Partners, a management consulting and advisory firm specializing in business and digital transformation. The Chazey Partners team brings decades of experience in implementing and operating business support and shared services organizations around the globe, with experience in robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI). Together, QX and Chazey Partners will work to deliver solutions that cover consulting, digital services and business process outsourcing. Clientele includes seniors housing …