Press Room – 2008 NIC Press Releases
Industry Leaders to Present Timely Business and Financing Sessions at NIC Conference
Event to Focus on ‘Opportunity Amid Economic Uncertainty’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2008
Contact: Renee Tilton, (410) 626-0805 or rtilton@crosbymarketing.com
Annapolis, Md. – How can seniors housing and care lenders, investors, owners and operators make the best decisions in an uncertain market? Those attending the 18th Annual NIC Conference, being held by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC), will get some answers. The conference will provide a range of sessions on topics that will focus on current financing and business issues, especially centered on the conference’s theme: “Opportunity Amid Economic Uncertainty: In This Market You Must Be Well-Informed.” The conference will be held on Sept. 10-12, 2008, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers in Chicago, Ill.
“Our slate of sessions is impressive and together with a blockbuster lineup of plenary speakers, should make this NIC Conference the best one yet,” said Kathryn A. Sweeney, managing director – US Senior Housing, The GPT Group, and NIC Board chair. “There will also be the same priority given to networking opportunities for providers who want to meet with lenders and investors. That’s the reason why the NIC Conference has earned its reputation for being the industry’s top dealmaking event.”
Breakout sessions will start on Thursday, Sept. 11, beginning at 10:30 a.m., and run through 11:00 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.
The Thursday morning sessions will include:
- An International Roundtable, the second year for this specially focused session. It will spotlight the demographic profiles, continuum of care needs, best practices, funding mechanisms and product development of seniors housing and care in Europe – with a specific focus on Germany – and comparisons to the U.S. market. Robert Ezer, strategic advisor, Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT, Frank Löewentraut, managing partner, Avivre Consult Gmb H, Patrick Kennedy, CEO, Harvest Development LLC, andPhilip Brooks, senior vice president, Capmark Finance Inc., will lead the discussion.
- A session on “The Value of Transparency” will focus on the seniors housing industry’s movement towards transparency and what this means for its future. Panelists will include Mark Schulte, board member, Brookdale Senior Living, and Jan Freitag, VP – Global Development, Smith Travel Research, as well as industry analyst Frank Morgan, managing director, Jefferies & Company, Inc., and institutional investor David Watkins, senior vice president, Heitman.
- Those wanting to get a handle on “Capital Availability in Today’s Market” should make a point to hear the final Thursday morning session. Arnold Whitman, CEO and co-chairman, Formation Capital, LLC, Cliff Cook, chairman, Renaissance Lifecare Place, Scott Eisen, managing director, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and William Shine, executive vice president, Capmark Finance Inc., will present innovative solutions to raise capital both domestically and internationally.
Three additional sessions will be offered on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 11, at 2:00 p.m.:
- The first will make “The Investment Case for Modernizing Skilled Nursing Facilities.” A panel of industry providers and financiers – George V. Hager, Jr., chairman and CEO, Genesis HealthCare Corp., B.J. Hauswald, SVP – Planning and Development, Genesis HealthCare Corp., Scott Schuster, CEO, Wingate Healthcare, and Wendy Simpson, president and CEO, LTC Properties, Inc. – will explore how and why investing in the modernization of aging skilled nursing facilities can make sense economically.
- Another session will examine “Market Penetration Rates: The Art and the Science” and consider how penetration rates can and should be part of seniors housing and care investment decisions. Speaking to this topic will be: Dan Hermann, managing director and group head, Ziegler Capital Markets, Dan Madsen, president and CEO, Leisure Care, Nicole D. Muller, senior consultant, Brecht Associates, Inc., and Meg Ostrom, senior vice president – Sales and Marketing, Classic Residence by Hyatt.
- NIC’s featured breakout session, “Innovation and Operations,” will preview technological innovations on the horizon and how they will drive new seniors housing and care business models. Loren Shook, president/CEO/chairman of the board, Silverado Senior Living, Joseph Coughlin, Ph.D., founder and director, AgeLab, MIT, and Gerald C. Davidson, Ph.D., dean, USC Davis School of Gerontology, and executive director, USC Andrus Gerontology Center, will also talk about current technology that providers are using to improve service, increase operating efficiencies, reduce risk and help contain the increasing cost of care.
Finally, three “don’t miss” sessions will take place on Friday, Sept. 12, from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.:
- A perennial favorite, “The Business of Seniors Housing and Care” will give a comprehensive overview of the business from operations and marketing to financing and investing. Giving the overview will be Grant Saunders, senior vice president and team sales leader, KeyBank National Association, Schuyler Hollingsworth, Jr., vice president and treasurer, Avalon Health Care, Inc., Tim Buchanan, CEO, Legend Senior Living, Ryan Frederick, vice president, CoastWood Capital Group, and Philip Kayden, manager – Real Estate Investments, Ventas Healthcare Properties.
- In “Seniors Housing and Care Valuations,” attendees will hear how the current market conditions have affected seniors housing and care valuations and capitalization rates.Gray Hampton, III, managing director, Banc of America Securities, LLC, Christopher A. Kazantis, director, AEW Capital Management, L.P., Margaret Scott, EVP and chief investment officer, Belmont Village Senior Living, and Frank Small, managing director, JER Partners, will share their insights.
- Those trying to understand “The Importance of Quality of Operations to Investors and Operators” will want to listen to Randy Richardson, president, Classic Residence by Hyatt, Ray Braun, president and CFO, Health Care REIT, Inc., Edward Kenny, president and CEO, Life Care Services LLC, and Roger Landry, president, Masterpiece Living LLC. This panel of industry experts will examine the relationships between operator quality and quality of life and why it is important to investors and operators alike.
In addition to the breakout sessions, plenary talks will be given by four internationally and nationally known personalities. Alice Rivlin, Ph.D., former vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board, and Peter Linneman, Ph.D., one of the nation’s leading strategic thinkers in real estate, will address the conference’s theme in their opening plenary address on Thurs., Sept. 11. At lunch that day, Tom Brokaw, legendary news anchor for NBC, will present the second plenary address, and Dr. Mark B. McClellan, former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will talk later that afternoon.
Multiple networking opportunities will be available throughout the conference, including two dedicated networking lounges. Attendees are also invited to attend two evening receptions: the opening reception on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and the popular “Meet the Lenders & Investors” networking reception on Thursday, Sept 11.
Attendance for the 18th Annual NIC Conference is limited to the first 1,600 registrants and space tends to fill up by mid-summer. Registration fees range from $1,000 (for operators with 1-10 properties) to $1,750. After July 23, 2008, a $200 late fee will apply (if space is still available).
To register, visit www.NIC.org, click on “Annual Conference” from the Events menu and then “Registration.” For more information, call (410) 267-0504.
About NIC
Founded in 1991, the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry is a nonprofit education and research organization providing information about business strategy and capital formation for the senior living industry. NIC is the leading provider of historical and trend data on the industry through its Key Financial Indicators™ (KFIs) that report nationwide statistics and its Market Area Profiles (MAP™) Data and Analysis Service that tracks properties in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Proceeds from its annual conference are used to fund research on issues of importance to seniors housing and care decision-makers. For more information, visit www.NIC.org or call (410) 267-0504.