By Jack Cumming
As a shareholder and senior living resident, I’ve long had an interest in Brookdale Senior Living. I bought in many years ago when the stock was at $37. As I write this, on June 4, 2026, it’s trading at $11.87 in after-hours trading.
Enter Nick Stengle
Today, Senior Housing News hosted an exclusive conversation with Nick Stengle, CEO of Brookdale. Mr. Stengle has been CEO for less than a year, and I confess I was skeptical of his hiring after learning that the first 11 years of his career were with the Air Force’s “Top Gun” operations. There can be a disqualifying arrogance that goes with such indoctrination.
Today’s conversation convinced me that I was unjustly biased. In short, I was very impressed by Mr. Stengle’s modesty, warmth, and common sense. I was late to the one-hour program after I got entangled elsewhere (I’m sure you know how that can happen), but the part I heard convinced me that Mr. Stengle has almost all the right instincts about how Brookdale might become a force for senior living again.
People Before Property
What impressed me the most was his repeated assertion that senior living is a people business. That seems obvious to me, but I hear industry insiders regularly talk of “buildings” and “properties” instead of the people who live, work, and visit those inert buildings and properties.
Mr. Stengle also expressed his belief that a happy, talented workforce will make for a contented clientele. Of course, there’s truth in that, and he may be imagining that all residents are a bit non compos mentis, but they are still people. It’s obvious he understands that he and his workforce work for those people, but it would have been nice to have heard him concede that residents are still people and that they still matter.
Only once did he talk about the company’s “real estate,” as though that were the business purpose. Some Board members have seemed to act as though their enrichment from property trading were more important than people. It certainly does matter for a business with property, but it’s not the purpose.
The purpose is people, and the company’s real estate serves that purpose. Sure, real estate can be a source of profit, but increasing occupancy, as Mr. Stengle noted, is a stronger path. Mr. Stengle appears to be a people person, and senior living needs more of them and fewer of the rest.
What’s the Future
What was missing, at least from what I heard and inferred about what I had missed, was a vision for the future. Mr. Stengle did mention home and community-based care services, but noted that eventually many, perhaps most, of those served by HCBS require a residential setting like the assisted living and memory care environment at Brookdale’s core. What if residential living became more attractive than the current preference for staying put? In other words, put Brookdale living first before HCBS.
Mr. Stengle is a quick learner, and he’s still learning how the industry now operates. I believe that he will soon move beyond the now to envision the future. I wonder if he has any knowledgeable, gifted residents to whom he listens in addition to listening to his associates and his Board.
Then, there’s the CEO’s responsibility for attracting talent. Civilian experience is better than military experience in advancing talent. If Mr. Stengle has an eye for talent and how to motivate and retain the best, he will be well on the way to restoring Brookdale to the potential it once had.
That last mention brings me to my dearest hope for Brookdale. My hope is that Mr. Stengle can handle the Brookdale Board and get them to resist intervening while insisting that they know best. So-called real estate experts have not fared well when they’ve interfered with management at Brookdale.
Opportunity Beckons
The future is bright for Brookdale if Mr. Stengle is allowed full freedom and support. Perhaps that’s where his fighter pilot background may come in handy. He should have the courage to stand up to intransigent board members when they push too hard with their egos.
On today’s call, Mr. Stengle knew his occupancy figures. He noted that at the time of the Emeritus merger, occupancy was at 89%, and that it’s now about 83%. The most recent quarterly resident fee revenue was roughly $730 million. Getting back to occupancy levels at the time of the merger would add $43 million to quarterly revenues, $172 million over the year. That’s not chump change, and Mr. Stengle seems to have the flexibility of vision to recognize that potential for profit gain. Perhaps, he can do better than in the past. Many communities are at 95%.
Transforming Life’s Last Stage
We still have to hear what Mr. Stengle’s vision will be for a transformative future that brings Brookdale positive buzz as the best place for aging. For some years, we’ve watched LCS™ grow both with sound acquisitions and stellar occupancy, while Brookdale has floundered and shrunk.
LCS™ leader, Chris Bird, came to LCS™ from Brookdale. Now, Brookdale may have the leadership it might have had if it had handled talent more adroitly. That means that these two organizations may now be in a fair race. Brookdale is publicly traded, while LCS™ remains privately held.
While a competitive race can be effective, one can’t help but imagine what these two leaders and their organizations might have been able to achieve as partners. It will be exciting to see what Mr. Stengle is able to achieve as he grows in the job.
