The new top leader of Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) is taking the company in a “far more offensive” direction while consolidating its regional leadership structure and further tilting toward ownership of the communities it manages.
Nick Stengle, who ascended to the CEO role of Brookdale in October, said that the Brentwood, Tennessee-based senior living provider would remain “first and foremost” an operating company “built upon a real estate foundation” under his leadership.
Brookdale in the fourth quarter has clustered operations under six regional vice presidents, with each leader overseeing approximately 100 communities. In effect, that makes Brookdale “six operating companies of roughly 100 communities each,” Stengle said.
In Stengle’s view, this will allow communities to more nimbly respond to “the regional aspects of senior living.”
“We set the goal, we set the objective, we help pave the road,” Stengle said. “We pave the road, we give the CapEx, we give the resources, finance and HR and our recruiting resources, we put up the guardrails.”
Stengle added that the company does not want to “centralize everything” so as to lose the local touch and regional maneuverability this new structure brings.
In the third quarter of 2025, Brookdale reported surpassing 84% same-store occupancy, representing a 170 basis point increase compared to the second quarter of 2024.
At the same time, Brookdale continues to prune its senior living portfolio, with Stengle noting that Brookdale would have a portfolio of approximately 550 communities “by the middle of 2026,” currently at approximately 623 communities as of Sept. 30th, following the reduction of 14 leased properties and 10 owned communities since June. Brookdale has finished disposing of 43 leased communities, part of its plan to divest 55 leased properties.
‘We become six companies’
One concern often shared in the industry is that national senior living operators are not nimble enough to succeed against local or regional operators. Brookdale is carving its holdings into six regions, each with a single leader over all operations, supported by sales, clinical, human resources, recruiting, dining and asset management.
“These six regional leaders act similarly to a general manager having direct ownership of their specific business,” Stengle said. “In effect, we become six companies of about 100 communities to really be nimble and really be focused on the regional aspects of senior living.”
Stengle added that Brookdale is “not adding additional leaders” but rather the company is refocusing job titles among the six regions.
Stengle said it was important to be “dynamic to the things that are happening within the four walls, but also things that are happening within the marketplace” in order for these new regional teams to succeed.
This reorganization effort is directly aimed at improving occupancy and net operating income growth, with Stengle noting that pricing power would go up as occupancy continues to increase on a “strategic pricing platform” that allows Brookdale to be “far more dynamic” in setting rates.
“The silver tsunami is here,” Stengle said. “All you have to do is look at active adult. Now it’s time for the assisted living and memory care segment to benefit from that same silver tsunami and the front edge of the wave is next year as baby boomers turn 80.”
On unit and rate pricing, Stengle said Brookdale could do “far, far better,” something that will be a “focus point” rounding out 2025 and beyond.
Another way the company can maintain this “more offensive posture” is through steady CapEx deployment with investment plans for communities to spur NOI or occupancy growth, something Stengle said is “just setting up a flywheel” to get better returns out of existing properties.
Brookdale’s positive cash flow, occupancy and rates continue to give Stengle optimism to maintain this offensive posture combined with the company’s monthslong effort to bring “SWAT” teams into communities ready to respond to issues.
Brookdale also seeks to own more of the communities it manages, an effort that started with Stengle’s predecessor Cindy Baier. Welltower CEO Shankh Mitra often describes the real estate investment trust (REIT) as an “operating company in a real estate wrapper.” To that end, Brookdale is not only the largest senior living operator, but also among the largest owners of senior living communities in the country with 372 owned communities as of the end of the third quarter of 2025.
“Obviously we’re the largest operator … but the part that we have to keep reminding ourselves and other folks is we’re also the third largest owner of senior living real estate,” Stengle said.
‘SWAT team’ operational response continues
Brookdale in recent quarters has deployed “SWAT teams” of specialists in various aspects of senior living operations in the name of hitting better results and improving customer satisfaction.
Communities under 70% occupancy fell 38% from 143 in the first quarter to 129 in the second quarter to 89 in the third quarter, of which 26 are slated for disposition, 22 are in active SWAT protocol, and 16 need 1 to 3 move-ins to exit sub-70%, while communities above 90% occupancy rose to 192 communities in the third quarter.
The SWAT team is working,” Stengle said. “We have now defined the playbook…It’s a mix of operational focus, it’s a mix of capital deployment and we’re going to use this to continue expanding the performance of our business.”
Brookdale Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dawn Kussow said the company’s improvements in occupancy “stems directly” from its SWAT teams approach, combined with targeted pricing actions and “a focus on operational accountability.”
The company continues to shed leased communities from Ventas, with company leaders expecting to transition 55 communities leased by Ventas by year’s end. Also at the end of 2025, Brookdale intends to spend between $170 million to $175 million in CapEx to improve communities and drive higher NOI with “some flexibility” to deploy additional CapEx improvements as projects are identified, according to Kussow.
“So we’re going to use CapEx with our SWAT teams to do what is working and continue running the business,” Stengle said.
The post Brookdale Senior Living Takes ‘More Offensive Posture’ Under New CEO appeared first on Senior Housing News.
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