Jim Pusateri named CEO of True Connection Communities, new senior living platform of Green Courte Partners
Jim Pusateri has been named CEO of True Connection Communities, the new senior living platform of Chicago-based private equity real estate investment firm Green Courte Partners. Pusateri also joins Green Courte as a managing director.
Pusateri has more than 25 years of experience in the senior living industry and was heavily involved in the early-stage growth of several significant senior living platforms, including those of Brookdale Senior Living and Horizon Bay Retirement Living, according to Green Courte Partners. Throughout his career, he has held various senior management positions in the industry, with responsibility for oversight of sales and marketing, operations, hospitality, development and human resources.
Pusateri most recently was the co-chief operating officer of Senior Lifestyle Corp., a position announced in September 2017. Previously, he was a senior vice president of sales at Brookdale, where he was responsible for strategic oversight of the sales teams at more than 1,000 communities and developed large-scale sales and training programs for the company. He also was a regional director of sales, corporate director of sales and marketing, and corporate director of new project development.
At Horizon Bay, Pusateri managed the sales and marketing communications departments and established sales and marketing standards for the organization. Before joining Horizon Bay, he was the chief senior housing officer at Elderlife Financial Services, where he helped make bridge loans available to families in need of senior living who couldn’t afford the monthly expenses. Pusateri also worked as executive vice president of senior living at LCOR Inc.
Pusateri earned his undergraduate degree in communications from the University of Kansas.
Through its fourth investment fund, Green Courte Real Estate Partners IV LLC and its affiliates, Green Courte has assembled a portfolio of nine senior living communities in four states, with a total of 1,400 units. The company is seeking additional active adult / independent living investment opportunities.
Cathy Murray returns to COO role at Life Care Centers of America
Cathy Murray recently became chief operating officer at Cleveland, TN-based Life Care Centers of America. In this role, she is overseeing operations at the company’s more than 200 nursing, post-acute and Alzheimer’s centers in 28 states.
“Cathy Murray joined Life Care in 1994 as a regional vice president and quickly proved the effectiveness of her leadership,” Life Care founder and chairman Forrest Preston said. “She rose through the ranks to become COO in 2000 and led the company through some of its most successful years. After some time away to pursue her doctoral degree and support her son and daughter in their educational advancement, she is back – and that bodes well for the residents and families we serve and the company at large. We welcome her back home with her professional family.”
Murray has more than 30 years of experience in long-term care, including time as a researcher and instructor and positions at the facility, regional, division and corporate levels. She is a licensed nursing home administrator and registered nurse with a doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.
Murray’s most recent professional pursuits have included teaching at a university and conducting research related to senior services, including being part of one of the largest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services grants ever awarded to the University of Missouri.
New Senior Investment Group names EVP / CFO and EVP of finance and accounting
David Smith has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Bhairav Patel has been appointed executive vice president of finance and accounting at New Senior Investment Group, the real estate investment trust announced Dec. 21. The appointments were effective Jan. 1 in conjunction with the internalization of the company’s management function.
Smith brings 15 years of REIT experience to the company. Before joining New Senior, he was a managing director in the private equity group of Fortress Investment Group, where he led capital markets and investor relations activities for the company. Prior to joining Fortress, Smith held various finance, capital markets and investor relations roles at Ventas and Omega Healthcare Investors.
He began his career in the real estate investment banking group at A.G. Edwards after having earned his undergraduate degree with honors in finance from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.
Smith will receive an annual base salary of $350,000 and a minimum cash bonus equal to $350,000 for 2019 and also will be eligible for additional compensation, according to New Senior.
Patel has more than 15 years of finance and accounting experience. Before joining New Senior, he was a managing director of Fortress. There, he served in various finance and accounting roles, including head of Fortress’s financial planning and analysis group and principal accounting officer of the company. Patel will continue to serve as the company’s principal accounting officer. Before joining Fortress, he was an accounting manager at GSC Group, a credit-based alternative investment manager.
Patel received his undergraduate and master’s degree in commerce from the University of Mumbai and is a certified public accountant (inactive). He will receive an annual base salary of $325,000 and a minimum cash bonus equal to $325,000 for 2019 and also will be eligible for additional compensation, according to New Senior.
Independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement community operators represented in New Senior’s portfolio include Holiday Retirement, Blue Harbor Senior Living, JEA Senior Living, Thrive Senior Living and Watermark Retirement Communities.
SRI Management adds seven to leadership team
Tallahassee, FL-based SRI Management LLC has unveiled changes to its organizational structure to support its growth strategy. SRI currently manages 21 independent, assisted living and memory support communities, encompassing more than 2,000 units. The company was slated to end 2018 with 25 properties under operation or in phases of pre-opening.
The company recently named the following corporate appointments at its headquarters:
Seth Walker is the new chief financial officer, tasked with streamlining financial operations and improving internal reporting speed and accuracy to better equip leadership decisions and overall direction for SRI Management.
Walker most recently was senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has a Master in Accounting degree from the University of Florida.
Heidi Ledbetter has been promoted to controller. She steps into the role as a past senior accountant, training and supporting all SRI communities on payroll and financial best practices. Ledbetter holds dual bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration from Flagler College.
Precious Hodge is now senior accountant. Hodge joins the SRI team with an undergraduate degree in accounting from Flagler College and a professional history as owner and manager of her own accounting and tax company. Her primary role focuses on streamlining the data-entry process for each community, providing revenue oversight and support to allow communities time to focus less on bookkeeping and more on their residents.
Lindsay Warren has been named divisional director of operations, South. A licensed practical nurse, Warren joins the corporate team as the previous award-winning executive director of Superior Residences of Clermont, a SRI-managed community. In her new role, she heads up the operational aspects of the South division, with the objective of exceeding expectations and goals surrounding resident care, family communication, facility maintenance, sales and financials.
Jennifer Martin is the new corporate director of sales. With a background in psychology and occupational therapy, she now is responsible for leading sales initiatives and trainings and achieving occupancy goals for communities. Working closely with the operations team, Martin provides hands-on coaching for sales directors at each community, in addition to identifying underperforming communities, developing and implementing strategies to increase revenue.
Casey Polk has been named divisional director of resident services, South. Having previously served as the director of resident services at Superior Residences of Clermont, Polk now oversees the training and accountability for resident services directors for all communities in the South region. Polk has an associate degree from Valencia College and her licensed practical nurse degree from Orlando Tech and has almost 10 years of experience in various resident services roles.
Valarie McKee is now executive assistant. She has more than 25 years of administrative support experience in the medical and faith-based industries. McKee has an associate degree in office administration from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mt. Vernon, OH.
Greg Crutcher named chief marketing officer at Atlas Senior Living
Greg Crutcher has been promoted to the position of chief marketing officer at Atlas Senior Living. He is the former vice president of sales and marketing for the Birmingham, AL, company.
Crutcher has been a part of Atlas Senior Living since its inception in 2013.
Crutcher came to Atlas Senior Living with years of healthcare sales experience, shifting his focus to senior living in 2010. Beginning as a Sales and Marketing Director, Crutcher achieved 100 percent occupancy. He was then promoted to Regional Sales Manager and Divisional Sales Director in the senior living industry.
Atlas Senior Living currently has nine communities across the Southeast, in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Kelley Skarp named SVP of sales and marketing at the Arbor Co.
Kelley Skarp has been named the new senior vice president of sales and marketing at the Arbor Co., Atlanta.
Skarp has 20 years of experience in the industry and joins the company from Sunrise Senior Living. There, she served in various sales roles over the past 10 years, including vice president of sales and marketing, senior vice president of field sales and marketing, and most recently, senior vice president of strategic partnerships.
Skarp attended the College of Charleston.
Wanda Palumbo named executive director of Charter Senior Living of Hermitage
Wanda Palumbo has been named executive director of Charter Senior Living of Hermitage, an independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Hermitage, TN.
Palumbo’s career in senior living spans 26 years, during which time she has worked in a variety of roles and operated in multiple levels of care, from memory care to independent living. Most recently, she was the executive director of Uffelman Estates, a Holiday Retirement independent living community in Clarksville, TN.
Palumbo is a graduate of LadyCliff College in Highland Falls, NY.
Alyssa Trujillo named executive director at Juniper’s Lakewood Reserve
Alyssa Trujillo has joined Lakewood Reserve, a Juniper Communities assisted living and memory care community in Lakewood, CO, as executive director.
Trujillo previously worked at Lakewood Reserve as the Wellspring director and at a sister property, Applewood Place, as the external marketer and clinical liaison.
In her new role, Trujillo will be overseeing the introduction of new programs and staff training as well as major renovations to the community.
Mathew Russo named assistant executive director / administrator at The Oaks at Denville
Mathew Russo has been named the assistant executive director / administrator at The Oaks at Denville, a Springpoint Senior Living community in Denville, NJ. The appointment was effective Dec. 3.
Russo most recently was the administrator of Care One at Livingston and previously had the same role at Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He is pursuing a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Seton Hall University.
Cedric Coco leaves Brookdale role as executive vice president and chief people officer
Cedric T. Coco left his role as executive vice president and chief people officer at Brentwood, TN-based Brookdale Senior Living effective Dec. 31, according to Brookdale.
Coco had joined the company in late 2016 after having served in various human resource roles for Lowe’s Companies since 2008. His most recent role there was senior vice president of human resources, a position in which he led the human resources generalists for Lowe’s stores, distribution centers and customer support centers in addition to leading talent acquisition, employee relations, and diversity and succession planning.
Before working for Lowe’s, Coco gained almost two decades of experience in business leadership, human resources and organization performance at Microsoft, KLA-Tencor and General Electric, companies at which he held numerous leadership roles in engineering, business development, sales, general management and organizational learning.
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