Keith Johannessen, president, chief operating officer and a member of the Capital Senior Living Board of Directors, died Tuesday after battling cancer, the company announced Wednesday.
“I had the good fortune of working with Keith for more than 20 years and witnessed firsthand the enormous impact he had on mentoring and developing the finest team in our industry,” said CEO Lawrence A. Cohen, who praised Johannessen as a visionary and compassionate leader.
Johannessen had more than 37 years of operational experience in seniors housing. He joined Capital Senior Living in 1993 as an executive vice president and had served as the company’s president since 1994 and COO since 1999. He had been a board member since 1999.
Before joining Capital Senior Living, Johannessen was senior manager in the healthcare practice of Ernst & Young and served on the State of the Industry and Model Assisted Living Regulations committees of the American Seniors Housing Association.
Capital Senior Living had announced Johannessen’s medical leave in a November filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and said his duties were being assigned to various executives within the company.
