Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Debra A. Cafaro has served as our Chief Executive officer since 1999 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2003.  

In 2011, Ms. Cafaro was named one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare and one of the Women to Watch by Crain's Chicago Business.  She was also voted to Institutional Investor's "2011 All-American Executive Team." In 2010, Forbes named Ms. Cafaro one of the ten "Best CEOs."   She was also a recipient of the Aiming High Award from Legal Momentum, which recognizes remarkable women whose personal leadership has broken new ground for women in business (2009). She has been named an Outstanding Woman by National Real Estate Investor Magazine (2008); a Woman of Influence by Real Estate Forum (2008); Female Leader of the Year by Commercial Property News (2007); one of "50 Women to Watch" by the Wall Street Journal (2004); and one of the "Best of the Best" REIT CEOs (2003).  

Ms. Cafaro is a past Chair of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the worldwide representative voice for REITs.  She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY), where she chairs its Finance Committee and is a member of its Compensation Committee; World Business Chicago, Chicago’s not-for-profit economic development corporation chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel; and the Real Estate Roundtable.  

Following her 1982-83 service as a judicial clerk to the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Ms. Cafaro practiced real estate, corporate and finance law. She also taught real estate transactions and finance from 1988 to 1992 as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Law School. Prior to joining Ventas, Ms. Cafaro was President and a Director of Ambassador Apartments, Inc. (NYSE: AAH), a multifamily REIT.  

Ms. Cafaro received her J.D. cum laude in 1982 from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was named its Distinguished Alumna in 2011 and currently serves on its Business Advisory Council, and her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1979.

President

RAYMOND J. LEWIS was named President of Ventas in 2010. He previously served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer from 2006 to 2010 and as our Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer from 2002 to 2006. Prior to joining us in 2002, he was managing director of business development for GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services, a division of General Electric Capital Corporation ("GECC"), which is a subsidiary of General Electric Corporation, where he led a team focused on mergers and portfolio acquisitions of healthcare assets. Before that, Mr. Lewis was Executive Vice President of Healthcare Finance for Heller Financial, Inc. (which was acquired by GECC in 2001), where he had primary responsibility for healthcare lending. Mr. Lewis is Chairman Emeritus of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). He is also currently a member of the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association where he serves as Secretary and Treasurer on the Executive Committee. Mr. Lewis is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

Executive Vice President, Medical Property Operations; President and CEO, Lillibridge Healthcare Services

TODD W. LILLIBRIDGE joined us as Executive Vice President, Medical Property Operations in 2010. Mr. Lillibridge also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of our subsidiary, Lillibridge Healthcare Services, where he is responsible for the strategic focus, vision and overall leadership of our medical office building operations. Prior to joining its predecessor in 1982, and subsequently establishing Lillibridge & Company, Mr. Lillibridge was employed by Baird & Warner, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, serving in the real estate finance group and development division. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the World Presidents’ Organization of Chicago and the Board of Directors of the Joffrey Ballet.  Mr. Lillibridge received a B.S., with honors, in Marketing and Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel

T. RICHARD RINEY has been our Executive Vice President and General Counsel since 1998, was named our Chief Administrative Officer in 2007 and also served as our Corporate Secretary from 1998 to 2012.  From 1996 to 1998, he served as Transactions Counsel for our predecessor, Vencor, Inc.  Prior to that, Mr. Riney practiced law with the law firm of Hirn, Reed & Harper, in Louisville, Kentucky, where his areas of concentration were real estate and corporate finance. He is admitted to the Bar in Kentucky and is a member of NAREIT. He received his undergraduate degree from Centre College and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

RICHARD A. SCHWEINHART has been our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2006. He joined us in 2002 as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, after briefly serving as a full-time consultant to Ventas.  From 1998 to 2002, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND), where he was responsible for all financial aspects of the company, including accounting, finance, purchasing, insurance, tax, reimbursement and internal control. Prior to that, Mr. Schweinhart was Senior Vice President of Finance for HCA Inc. ("HCA"), Chief Financial Officer at Galen Health Care, Inc. (a spin-off of Humana Inc. ("Humana")) prior to its acquisition by HCA and Senior Vice President of Finance at Humana. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky with a B.A. in Accounting.

Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

ROBERT J. BREHL joined us as Chief Accounting Officer and Controller in 2006. From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Brehl was Senior Vice President and Controller of Atria Senior Living Group, Inc., where he had oversight for all accounting and tax functions, treasury operations and cash management. He was in the assurance and advisory services group with Ernst & Young LLP in Louisville, Kentucky from 1985 until 1998, where his responsibilities included working with various publicly-held multinational corporations. Mr. Brehl is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Louisville.

Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer

JOHN D. COBB joined us as Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer in 2010. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Senior Lifestyle Corporation, where he led the strategic direction of a 9,000+ unit retirement company with over 3,400 employees. Prior to that, he held various positions with GE Healthcare Financial Services, a division of General Electric Capital Corporation, which is a subsidiary of General Electric Corporation, with the last being Senior Managing Director, where he led a team focused on debt and equity investments of healthcare real estate totaling over $9 billion. Mr. Cobb has served as a director of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association. Mr. Cobb holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Lehigh University.

Senior Vice President, Medical Property Operations; Executive VP and Chief Investment Officer, Lillibridge Healthcare Services

VINCENT M. COZZI joined us as Vice President, Acquisitions in 2005 and was named Senior Vice President, Medical Property Operations in 2010. He also serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of our subsidiary, Lillibridge Healthcare Services, where he is responsible for leading our investment activity in medical office and outpatient real estate. From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Cozzi was Vice President-Finance and Treasurer of Trizec Properties Inc., one of the nation's largest owners of premier office buildings, where he held positions in finance, corporate strategy and asset management. He has also held positions at Kemper Corporation and at Falcon Real Estate Ltd. Mr. Cozzi is a member of the Urban Land Institute, NAREIT, the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC), and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA). He is a trustee of the Latin School of Chicago, a member of the Leadership Council of the Chicago Public Education Fund, and chairs the board of directors of High Jump, an academic enrichment program for talented inner-city students. Mr. Cozzi also serves on the Board of Advisors to the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. in Finance and Business Policy from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Senior Vice President and Chief Portfolio Officer

TIMOTHY A. DOMAN currently serves as our Senior Vice President and Chief Portfolio Officer, after serving as Senior Vice President, Asset Management from 2007 to March 2012, and Vice President, Asset Management from 2002 to 2007. Before joining us, Mr. Doman was a senior asset manager for GE Capital Real Estate, where his responsibilities included approval and implementation of property business plans, development of investment and exit strategies and development and approval of major capital improvement programs for a real estate equity and loan portfolio. He previously served as Vice President of Asset Management at Kemper Corporation. He received his B.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. in Finance from Indiana University.

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

JULIE M. DREIXLER currently serves as our Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, after serving as Senior Vice President, Human Resources from 2008 to March 2012. Prior to that, Ms. Dreixler was a Vice President, Human Resources for Cardinal Health, where she served as a business partner within the Healthcare Supply Chain Services segment focused on leading organizational change and integration activities to support business goals. Ms. Dreixler previously served as Vice President, Human Resources for Sara Lee Coffee & Tea, with responsibility for the U.S. Foodservice business, and held various human resources positions with Citibank, Aris-Isotoner (a division of Sara Lee), GE Capital and Chicago Title and Trust. She received a B.A. in Public Administration, Political Science and German from Augustana College and an M.S. in Industrial Relations/Human Resources from Loyola University.

Senior Vice President, Medical Property Operations; Executive Vice President and CFO, Lillibridge Healthcare Services

JOSEPH G. KURZYDYM joined us as Senior Vice President, Medical Property Operations in July 2010. He also serves as Chief Financial Officer of our subsidiary, Lillibridge Healthcare Services, where he is responsible for asset and property management, corporate operations, financial reporting and related accounting policies and practices. Mr. Kurzydym joined Lillibridge in 1998 as Chief Financial Officer, and he has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare, real estate and general corporate management. Mr. Kurzydym is a member of many professional organizations including the National Association of Real Estate Companies (NAREC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Indiana CPA Society (ICPAS). He received a B.S. in Business from Indiana University.

Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Officer

BRIAN K. WOOD currently serves as our Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Officer, after serving as Senior Vice President, Tax from 2007 to March 2012, and as Vice President, Tax from 2000 to 2007. From 1991 to 2000, he served as Vice President, Tax for Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND), where his areas of concentration were taxation, accounting and insurance. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Wood was a tax manager with Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Wood is a member of NAREIT, the Tax Executives Institute, and the American Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received a B.A. in Accounting from Eastern Kentucky University.