Jayne Sallerson’s move from Benchmark Senior Living to Charter Senior Living is interesting for three reasons.

By Steve Moran

New position announcements in the senior living sector happen frequently, so frequently in fact that Senior Housing Forum almost never covers them, something Senior Housing News excels at. And yet Jayne Sallerson’s move from Benchmark Senior Living to Charter Senior Living is interesting for three reasons:

  1. I have known Jayne for a number of years and have huge respect for her talent and passion for excellence in senior living.

  1. I have great admiration for Benchmark Senior Living and for Tom Grape, the CEO of Benchmark.

  1. After talking to Jayne and Kevin this afternoon, it is clear that she moved from a great opportunity to a great opportunity.  

Reading The Crystal Ball

I am not sure that I have a crystal ball that is any better than anyone else’s except perhaps for two things:

  1. I likely have more conversations with more people in more organizations than just about any other person in the industry. This year likely1,800 conversations with near 1,000 different people in hundreds of organizations.

  1. Even though I tackle some of the toughest issues in the industry I am highly trustworthy to talk to and to share secrets with. This gives me a much better perspective on the industry . . . or maybe it is just self-delusion.

We are in a time of froth in senior living where there will be a lot of shuffling. This means cultures will shift. We will see some spectacular success stories and some mind-numbing collapses. It is, though, a time to continue to be optimistic. This frothiness will make the industry better. We will have to really work hard at figuring out what works and what does not.

What This Move Means

First, it means nothing except that Jayne had the opportunity to be an equity investor in a company that is still a very young emerging company. Perhaps the biggest single lesson in this move is that when you are a great leader you are in high demand. It would also suggest that we do not have enough great leaders.

We wish Jayne the best of luck in her move.