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Ecumen Names Top HR Leader

Ecumen has named Abby Ludens to the role of chief human resources officer and vice president of talent strategy.

In this position, Ludens will help the Minnesota-based senior housing provider attract and retain talent and improve training for employees. She will also oversee the entire human resources and organizational development departments.

Previously, Ludens worked at national retailer Mattress Firm, where she started as a sales manager and then held several executive jobs.

LaSalle Group Names New VP of Sales for Autumn Leaves

The LaSalle Group has promoted Karon Porter to the role of vice president of sales for its Autumn Leaves memory care communities.

In her new role, Porter will help with operations and investor relations. She will also continue to oversee the development and management of the Autumn Leaves sales programs, including staff training and coaching for the company’s nearly 50 memory care communities.

Porter has led the company in “double digit” occupancy rate percentage increases since joining the company last year. Prior to joining Autumn Leaves, she helped lead sales for other senior living operators, including Brookdale Senior Living, Sagora Senior Living and Senior Lifestyle Corporation.

Ziegler Hires Finance Health Care Banker

National specialty investment bank Ziegler has added Christopher Utz as a director for its senior living corporate finance team.

Utz will now work on structured senior housing transactions, including debt and equity transactions, financial advisory services and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Ziegler, Chris was a managing director at Pinta Capital Partners, where he managed the firm’s senior housing investment portfolio of more than 1,400 beds in the Northeastern U.S.

Former Trilogy Senior VP Joins Home Care Company

Robert Barnes, the former senior vice president of operations at Trilogy Health Services, has joined one of the largest privately held home care providers in the U.S.

Barnes recently joined ResCare as as executive vice president and president of the company’s intellectual and developmental disability services business segment. In his new role, Barnes will help develop service offerings in the community-based intellectual and developmental disability services field. His focus will be on operational processes and growth opportunities.

Maryland Life Plan Community Names Directors of General Services, Sales and Marketing

Integrace Fairhaven, a life plan community in Sykesville, Maryland, has hired Michael Stoner to the role of director of general services, and J. Dayton Caddy to the role of director of sales and marketing.

In these new positions, Stoner will lead the community’s maintenance, laundry, housekeeping, transportation, grounds and security departments, while Caddy will be responsible for introducing prospective new residents the community’s continuum of care.

Most recently, Stoner was the director of facilities and construction at the United Zion Retirement Community in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Caddy joined Fairhaven from The Village at Orchard Ridge in Winchester, Virginia, where he served as a sales counselor.

LCB Community in Massachusetts Hires Executive Director

LCB Senior Living has named April Slesinski as the new executive director of The Residence at Watertown Square in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Slesinski, who has about seven years of senior housing sales experience, most recently was an executive director for a Sunrise Senior Living community.

K4Connect Names Senior Vice President of Engineering

Senior living tech company K4Connect has named Kuldip Pabla as its senior vice president of engineering.

In his new role, Pabla will oversee the development of K4Community, the company’s solution designed for residents and staff of senior living communities.

Pabla, who has more than 20 years of experience in the tech world, most recently served as the co-founder and chief technology officer of Cooldimi, an applied AI startup.

After NuStep Founder’s Retirement, Company Appoints New CEO

NuStep, a provider of recumbent cross trainers used in health care, senior living and fitness settings, recently announced the retirement of founder and chief executive officer, Dick Sarns, and the appointment of his successor, Eric Sklar.

Sklar first joined NuStep in June, and previously served as president and CEO of A&E Medical Corporation.

Written by Tim Regan