Cafaro to Replace Lunsford as Ventas Board Chair

LOUISVILLE, KY-Healthcare REIT Ventas Inc.’s board of directors has appointed president and CEO Debra A. Cafaro to the additional position of chairman of the board, officials revealed today. Cafaro replaces W. Bruce Lunsford, who resigned his seat in order to consider mounting a campaign to run in Kentucky’s upcoming gubernatorial race.

“After committing nearly twenty years to building three companies that have created more than 50,000 jobs, I am ready to move forward to a new phase of my life, and I am considering a return to public service,” Lunsford says. “This is an opportune time for me to make this change because I am confident that the companies I founded are moving in the right direction and are in good hands. In particular, Ventas has benefited since 1999 from the unique strength and character of its President and CEO Debra Cafaro.

Cafaro, 45, joined Ventas as president and CEO in March 1999. She is a member of NAREIT’s Board of Governors and a member of the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School.