TOLEDO,
Ohio, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Welltower
Inc. (NYSE: WELL) today announced executive and senior leadership
team promotions to further solidify its best-in-class team and to
strengthen the Company's long-term growth prospects.
"The transformation of Welltower and the progress we have made
over the past decade would not have been possible without the
dedication, contribution and impact of the individuals being
recognized today," said Shankh Mitra, Welltower's Chief
Executive Officer. "These promotions reflect their
exceptional leadership as they embody the unique culture we have
created. The cultivation of the next generation of talent at
the firm will add further duration to our dogged pursuit of
long-term compounding of per share growth for our owners." Mr.
Mitra added, "All of these individuals have been instrumental in
creating what is known today as Welltower by laying one airtight
brick at a time with an outsider mindset. Nikhil, Tim,
Matt and John Olympitis are part of
the original team who started this transformational journey with me
almost a decade ago. Eddy, Patrick
and John Burkart subsequently joined us as we disrupted our
company from within to the next iteration. But all of them
share two rare genetic qualities: a 'delayed gratification gene'
referring to their instinctive bias towards sacrificing an
immediate reward for a much larger gain tomorrow and a 'fiduciary
gene' representing their innate desire to put the interests of our
owners ahead of their own. I am humbled every day by their
unwavering commitment to the long-term success of our Company."
John Burkart has been appointed
Vice Chairman & Chief Operating Officer after previously
serving as Executive Vice President – Chief Operating
Officer. Prior to joining Welltower in 2021, Mr. Burkart
spent 25 years at Essex Property Trust, a best-in-class multifamily
REIT, most recently serving as Senior Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Welltower, Mr.
Burkart has made tremendous strides in driving structural overhaul
for our Company through the creation of a first-in-kind
comprehensive operating platform within the seniors housing
industry. Importantly, the platform will serve to
meaningfully improve and enhance the customer and site level
employee experience through the modernization and digital
transformation of the business. Mr. Burkart has also
sustained the Company's track record of delivering industry-leading
operating results through a range of asset management and capital
management initiatives which will further amplify Welltower's
future operating success. Mr. Burkart holds a BS in Finance
from San Jose State University and an
MBA in Real Estate from Golden Gate
University.
Nikhil Chaudhri was appointed
Co-President & Chief Investment Officer after previously
serving as Executive Vice President – Chief Investment
Officer. Mr. Chaudhri joined Welltower as an associate nearly
10 years ago before being named Co-Head of US Investments in 2020
and CIO in 2023. Following his appointment as CIO, Mr.
Chaudhri has overseen approximately $11
billion of global capital deployment across all property
types and up and down the capital stack. Mr. Chaudhuri also
leads our industry-leading talent recruitment, training and
development, and management program. Mr. Chaudhri holds an
MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSE in Computer
Science Engineering from the University of Michigan and is a CFA charterholder.
Tim McHugh was appointed
Co-President & Chief Financial Officer after previously serving
as Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer. Mr.
McHugh joined Welltower in 2016 and assumed increasing levels of
responsibility before being appointed CFO in 2019. In recent
years, Mr. McHugh has led an unparalleled strengthening of the
Company's balance sheet, with Welltower currently maintaining
exceptional levels of liquidity and the strongest leverage metrics
amongst all large cap REITs. He will continue to lead the
Company's corporate finance, capital markets, financial planning
and analysis, budgeting, capital planning, tax and financial
accounting functions. Mr McHugh will also partner with John Burkart to further accelerate the buildout
of our operating platform. Mr. McHugh holds a BS in Finance and a
minor in Technology and Management from the University of
Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and is a CFA charterholder.
Matthew McQueen has been
appointed Chief Legal Officer after previously serving as Executive
Vice President – General Counsel. Mr. McQueen joined
Welltower in 2015 and has been instrumental in Welltower's growth
over the past decade, providing critical guidance on a range of
complex global transactions, overall strategic direction and human
capital. He is also deeply involved in the Company's capital
markets activities, risk management of the firm and oversees all
governance related matters. Prior to Welltower, Mr. McQueen
served as a partner at Sidley Austin LLP within the Corporate &
Securities group. Mr. McQueen holds a BA in English and
History from Indiana University and
earned his JD from the University of
Michigan.
John Olympitis has been promoted
to Executive Vice President – Head of Corporate Development after
previously serving as Senior Vice President – Head of Corporate
Development. Mr. Olympitis joined Welltower in 2015 as a
senior analyst within the corporate finance group and, following
proven success, assumed responsibility for originating development
and acquisition transactions across all asset classes. He now
leads the Company's business development and relationship
management functions, serving at the forefront of Welltower's most
important operating partner relationships. Mr. Olympitis
graduated with honors from University College London
(UK).
Edward Cheung has been promoted
to Executive Vice President – International Investments after
previously serving as Senior Vice President – International
Investments. Mr. Cheung joined Welltower in 2019 and oversees
the Company's offices in Toronto
and London. He is responsible for the transformation and
substantial growth of Welltower's Canada and UK businesses, through numerous
value-enhancing transactions across the capital stack. Prior
to joining Welltower, Mr. Cheung served as Managing Partner at
Brookfield Financial, a Brookfield Company with a focus on
structured finance and M&A advisory. Mr. Cheung holds an
MBA from INSEAD and graduated from the University of Waterloo (Canada) with a degree in Systems Design
Engineering.
Patrick Keppenne has been promoted to Senior Vice President –
Investments and a member of the Company's senior leadership
team. Since joining Welltower as an associate in 2018 and
most recently as Vice President – Investments, Mr. Keppenne has led
many of the Company's most critical equity, debt, and mezzanine
transactions spanning the seniors housing, wellness housing and
post-acute sectors. Prior to joining Welltower, Mr. Keppenne
served as an as an associate in the Real Estate and Finance
division at DLA Piper LLP. Mr. Keppenne earned his JD from
Maastricht University (Netherlands) and MBA from Columbia Business
School.
Mr. Mitra added, "While we are proud of our accomplishments and
track record under the current management team, there is no
complacency at Welltower and our journey is just getting
started. Our world-class team is all-in and we continuously
seek to optimize growth within our existing businesses, evaluate
new ventures and business opportunities, and pursue investments
with superior returns, lower risk, and long duration.
As one of the most prolific investors in the aging demographic
trend that is unfolding in the macrocosm of our society across the
US, UK, and Canada, we are also
acutely aware of the current and upcoming wave of retirements
within leadership positions across preeminent public and private
real estate institutions, a microcosm of this broader demographic
trend. Welltower prides itself on recruiting, nurturing, and
developing top-tier talent, allowing our team members to attain a
wide-range of experience and great track records, making them among
the most sought-after leaders within the real estate
sector.
Through today's promotions, we are not only recognizing and
retaining our most valued team members, but also taking the first
step of creating significant opportunities for growth and
advancement of the next generation of leadership at Welltower
beyond the current executive team. While we remain
extraordinarily excited about our growth prospects in the coming
years, we are also committed to ensuring the Company's continued
success decades from now."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
When Welltower uses words such as "may," "will," "intend,"
"believe," "expect," "project" or similar expressions that do not
relate solely to historical matters, the Company is making
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause Welltower's actual results to differ
materially from Welltower's expectations discussed in the
forward-looking statements. This may be a result of various
factors, including, but not limited to: the status of the economy;
the status of capital markets, including availability and cost of
capital; issues facing the health care industry, including
compliance with, and changes to, regulations and payment policies,
responding to government investigations and punitive settlements
and operators'/tenants' difficulty in cost effectively obtaining
and maintaining adequate liability and other insurance; changes in
financing terms; competition within the health care and seniors
housing industries; negative developments in the operating results
or financial condition of operators/tenants, including, but not
limited to, their ability to pay rent and repay loans; Welltower's
ability to transition or sell properties with profitable results;
the failure to make new investments or acquisitions as and when
anticipated; natural disasters, health emergencies (such as the
COVID-19 pandemic) and other acts of God affecting Welltower's
properties; Welltower's ability to re-lease space at similar rates
as vacancies occur; Welltower's ability to timely reinvest sale
proceeds at similar rates to assets sold; operator/tenant or joint
venture partner bankruptcies or insolvencies; the cooperation of
joint venture partners; government regulations affecting Medicare
and Medicaid reimbursement rates and operational requirements;
liability or contract claims by or against operators/tenants;
unanticipated difficulties and/or expenditures relating to future
investments or acquisitions; environmental laws affecting
Welltower's properties; changes in rules or practices governing
Welltower's financial reporting; the movement of U.S. and foreign
currency exchange rates; Welltower's ability to maintain its
qualification as a REIT; key management personnel recruitment and
retention; and other risks described in Welltower's reports filed
from time to time with the SEC. Welltower undertakes no obligation
to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements,
whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, or
to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those
projected in any forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Welltower Inc.