Barely a blip on the radar screen 20 years ago, healthcare
has been among the fastest-growing—and fastest-evolving—
sectors in real estate. Meet 16 leaders who have helped to make
the business what it is today.
By Paul Bubny, Rayna Katz and Erika Morphy
JAMES D.
BREMNER
In the mid-1990s, James
Bremner was among the
first commercial real estate
developers and investors to
recognize the growing
need—and opportunity—
presented by the healthcare industry. He founded
Bremner & Wiley, a pioneering firm in the sector,
in 1994; it later grew into
an industry leader as
Bremner Healthcare Real
Estate. In 2004, Bremner
Healthcare formed a joint
venture with Duke Realty; the partners developed nine facilities
totaling 784,000 square feet over the next three years. The success of this working relationship led Duke to acquire Bremner
Healthcare in 2007, and today, Bremner serves as president of
Duke Realty’s healthcare division, which has amassed a portfolio of 5. 4 million square feet under his direction.
DEBRA A. CAFARO
Debra Cafaro has been CFO of Ventas since 1999 and chairman
of its board of Directors since 2003. She almost needs no intro-
duction—Cafaro is easily recognized from her many professional
commitments and industry accolades. Here is the short list: She
was selected as one of the Top 50 Women in World Business by
the Financial Times, and one
of the 100 Most Influential
People in Healthcare by
Modern Healthcare. She was
also voted by investors and
analysts to Institutional
Investor’s 2011 and 2012 “All-
American Executive Team.”
Cafaro is a former chair of
NAREIT and has served as a
distinguished representative
voice for REITs in general.
She came to health care real
estate via a circuitous route:
her background and educa-
tional training was in the law.
She served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips, US
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and has taught real estate
transactions and finance from 1988 to 1992 as an Adjunct
Professor at Northwestern University Law School.
JOSEPH D. CARROLL
Joseph Carroll formed Triad Partners in 1986 and has been
president and CEO ever since, directing all aspects of the development process, including land acquisition, entitlements,
design, construction, leasing, financing and disposition. Over
the course of his career, Carroll has served as an executive of two
former NYSE-listed companies—Caesars World and G&L Realty,
a healthcare REIT. He was also the president of Westgroup,
which acquired and redeveloped a number of large-scale proj-
Health Care Real Estate Pioneers
