Patrick Mathews, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Investment Officer at Charter Senior Living, has been named a 2025 Future Leader by Senior Housing News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40 years of age or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for older adults and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Mathews sat down with Senior Housing News to share what drew him to the senior housing & senior living industry, the biggest leadership lessons he has learned, his thoughts on the future of senior housing & senior living, and much more. To learn more about the Future Leaders Awards program, visit https://futureleaders.wtwhmedia.com/.
SHN: What drew you to the senior housing & senior living industry?
Mathews: I began my career working for a couple of different investment companies in various capacities, which helped me immediately exercise my passion for anything numbers related.
After moving out of the investment space to work on a corporate FP&A team for a large national Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain, I quickly realized that while I loved working with the team to solve operational problems, I wanted to find an industry where my skillset could be used for something more impactful to people’s lives. It was then that I entered the senior living industry as an analyst and have been blessed to not only be a part of some amazing success stories but also have had the opportunity to work alongside some incredible people.
SHN: What’s your biggest leadership lesson learned since starting to serve this industry?
Mathews: I would say there are two that stick out in my experience.
The first was from a CFO I worked for early in my senior living career who used to say, “Make sure you always feel like you are out over your skis.” The point was to seek out discomfort, make mistakes, and put yourself in places where you are forced to ask questions. It shows that you want to learn, and it also endears you to others in the room, as most people don’t want to be seen as not having the answers.
The second is something that is near and dear to our hearts at Charter, which is the concept of culture. We all work hard in all parts of this industry, and there are days that are difficult, or times that you don’t get everything right. Some companies look at those things as the reason for punishment. We embrace those days more than others because those are the times that you learn the most. These are the times when we look to our company mission of Enhancing the Human Spirit and try to remind ourselves that no one is perfect. I am lucky to have business partners in Keven Bennema and Jayne Sallerson that truly live and breathe these concepts day in and day out.
SHN: If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of the senior housing & senior living industry, what would it be?
Mathews: More patience. We tend to expect results from changes immediately. Sometimes that works, but it is often a long road home. Understanding this on all ends will help everyone accomplish the goal of a performing community with happy residents and employees.
SHN: In one word, how would you describe the future of senior housing & senior living?
Mathews: Optimistic.
SHN: If you had a crystal ball, what do you think will impact the senior housing & senior living industry now and into 2026?
Mathews: I am focused on two things – interest rates and development funding.
In terms of rates, the hope is that we get some relief here to continue to spur investments and recapitalization activity.
On development funding, we are acutely aware as an industry the need for continued investment in developments to support the current and future demand for senior housing, but we have seen many stay on the sidelines since COVID due to some depressed fundamentals, and what is seen as an easier path forward with acquisitions of older supply.
I hope that we see a marked improvement in those discussions in 2026.
SHN: In your opinion, what qualities must all Future Leaders possess?
Mathews: Be inquisitive. Ask the hard questions. Challenge the status quo. Find ways to attract and retain top talent. Look beyond the data for the full story. And above all else, you need to listen to your team to understand the issues they are dealing with day in and day out. Sometimes, even what seems like the simplest issue, is a thread to a larger complication.
SHN: If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the senior housing & senior living industry, what would it be and why?
Mathews: Find a way to spend more time in the field and a lot more time having conversations with people in different parts of our business (vendors, investors, etc.). I have been lucky to learn a lot from each of those sets of people over the years, but early on, I definitely didn’t take enough advantage of the opportunities to do more.
You can learn so much from people in all different parts of our business due to their passion and intelligence. Borrowing someone else’s experiences is one of the best ways to learn!
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