The administrators of Brookdale Senior Residing Inc. have appointed a longtime trade govt and veteran of Kindred at House in addition to Dawn Senior Residing, amongst others, to be the corporate’s subsequent CEO.
Nick Stengle will take the helm at Nashville-based Brookdale on Oct. 6, almost six months after the board and former CEO Cindy Baier parted methods. Stengle, 49, involves Brookdale—which on June 30 operated greater than 640 facilities in 41 states—from Gentiva, the place he had been president and COO since August 2022. Atlanta-based Gentiva is the successor to hospice, palliative and private care firm Kindred at House, which was majority-owned by Humana Inc. till mid-2022.
“I’m assured Nick has the strategic acumen, imaginative and prescient, and management expertise to construct on our robust momentum at this pivotal level in Brookdale’s historical past,” Denise Warren, a director who has been interim CEO since April, mentioned in an announcement. “His spectacular observe report of driving sturdy operational efficiency whereas constructing a tradition of teamwork, excellence, and accountability uniquely positions him to make sure the corporate thrives.”
Previous to working two stints at Gentiva, Stengle—who began his profession within the hospitality sector—was COO at Dawn Senior Residing, which runs about 250 retirement communities across the nation. He might be paid an preliminary base wage of $950,000 and obtain a $370,000 sign-on bonus in January. Along with being eligible for 2026 long-term incentives that may be price as much as $4.7 million, he additionally can have the possibility to earn an annual bonus of greater than $1.3 million.
Phrase of his appointment comes a number of days after CFO Daybreak Kussow advised the Jefferies 2025 Healthcare Providers Convention that the Brookdale workforce is on observe with its push to trim the corporate’s portfolio to about 550 properties by the center of subsequent 12 months and that the senior residing sector’s low provide dynamics are establishing the corporate for a very good run within the years forward.
“We’ve been persevering with to develop occupancy at a speedy tempo (and) the flow-through within the enterprise is simply very excessive,” Kussow mentioned Sept. 30. “I believe we’re on the precipice of constructing that flip, having sturdy, sustainable operational development.”
Baier had led the corporate since early 2018, left the corporate as activist funding agency Ortelius Advisors was difficult its board about what it mentioned was “years of underperformance,” mentioning that Brookdale’s inventory had misplaced 30 p.c of its worth over the earlier 5 years. The traders additionally mentioned the administrators have been “not finest suited to credibly chart the trail ahead” and proposed six board candidates of their very own. However not sufficient Brookdale shareholders backed them on the firm’s annual assembly in mid-July.
Shares of Brookdale (Ticker: BKD) closed Oct. 2 buying and selling at $8.42 after giving up about 1.6 p.c. They’ve, nevertheless, rallied almost 40 p.c over the previous six months, a surge that has grown the corporate’s market capitalization to about $2 billion.
