Flaherty Out, JLL's Martin In at HCP

LONG BEACH, CA-The board of directors at healthcare REIT HCP Inc. has terminated president and CEO James A. Flaherty III and named Lauralee Martin, Americas CEO at Jones Lang LaSalle, to succeed him in those capacities effective immediately. Lead director Michael D. McKee will succeed Flaherty, who was also HCP's chairman, as non-executive chairman; Flaherty will remain on the board. Separately, JLL said Thursday that president and CEO Colin Dyer would succeed Martin at the helm of the company's Americas region.

“With the healthcare industry in transition, the board believes that Lauralee is perfectly suited by experience, expertise, leadership skills and temperament to move quickly and confidently to take advantage of opportunities that will both strengthen and grow HCP,” says McKee, a CEO himself with Bentall Kennedy (US). Martin has been a member of HCP's board since 2008, and will continue to serve as one of its directors. The company is a key client of JLL.

McKee adds that Flaherty, who had served as HCP's CEO since 2003, “was a substantial and successful force behind HCP's considerable growth for more than a decade, and we wish him continued success.” To improve the REIT's governance, the board opted to split the chairman and CEO roles.

Martin calls the current environment “a pivotal time of challenges, transitions and consolidation for the healthcare industry both here and abroad, driven by inescapable demographics and changes in the new insurance legal framework. The healthcare industry and its service providers need HCP's smart, sophisticated capital to navigate this transition—to compete, grow and, ultimately, to survive and thrive. The opportunities are compelling.”

At JLL headquarters in Chicago, Dyer says Martin had made “outstanding contributions to our firm's growth and success, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with her at HCP. I also am excited about collaborating more closely with the Americas leadership team to maintain the profitable growth momentum that we have established in the region." Martin had taken on the Americas CEO role in January, capping a decade at the firm during which she held the global CFO and COO roles.