Management

Management

Executive Chairman
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Mr. Christensen has served as our President since 1999 and Chief Executive Officer since April 2006. On May 30, 2019, Mr. Christensen began serving as our Executive Chairman and the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Christensen has served as a member of our Board of Directors since forming the Company in 1999. Prior to forming Ensign, Mr. Christensen served as acting Chief Operating Officer of Covenant Care, Inc., a California-based provider of long-term care. Mr. Christensen has overseen our company and its growth since our inception in 1999. Mr. Christensen served on the Board of Directors of CareTrust REIT from June 2014 to April 2015.

Chief Executive Officer and Director
Barry

Mr. Port has served as our Chief Executive Officer since May 2019. He has concurrently served as a member of our Board of Directors since May 2019. Mr. Port served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ensign Services, Inc., which provides consulting and management services to our skilled nursing and assisted living operations, from January 2012 to May 2019. He previously served as the President of our subsidiary, Keystone Care, Inc., which includes operations in Texas, from March 2006 to December 2011. Prior to 2006, he served as the CEO at our Bella Vita Health and Rehabilitation Center (formerly Desert Sky Health and Rehabilitation Center) skilled nursing and assisted living campus in Glendale, Arizona from March 2004 to March 2006.  Mr. Port holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Brigham Young University in Exercise Physiology, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Health Administration both from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Director
Suzanne

Ms. Suzanne D. Snapper was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President on May 30, 2019. Prior to that, Ms. Snapper served as Chief Financial Officer of The Ensign Group, Inc. since August 2009 and as Vice President-Finance since 2007. Ms. Snapper played a key role in taking the company public and also oversaw the implementation of Ensign's internal controls over financial reporting. Prior to joining Ensign, she spent ten years as a senior manager at KPMG LLP, where her practice included providing audit services for public companies in the technology, transportation and quick serve restaurant industries. Ms. Snapper is a certified public accountant. She holds a B.A. in Accounting from California State University, Fullerton. 

 

Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President & Secretary
Chad

Chad A. Keetch was appointed as Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President and Secretary on May 30, 2019. His role includes business development, strategic growth, capital markets, as well as managing the Company’s real estate portfolio and other new ventures. Prior to that, Mr. Keetch served as Executive Vice President and Secretary since June 1, 2014. Previously Mr. Keetch served as the Company’s Vice President of Acquisitions and Business Legal Affairs and Assistant Secretary, since 2010. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Keetch was an attorney at Stoel Rives LLP from September 2008 to March 2010 and Kirkland & Ellis LLP from September 2005 through September 2008, where his practice emphasized mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, capital markets transactions and general governance issues. Mr. Keetch holds a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from The Ohio State University. 

President & Chief Operating Officer
Spencer Burton

Spencer Burton was appointed President and Chief Operations Officer on May 30, 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Burton served as president of Ensign’s Northwest-based portfolio company, Pennant Healthcare, Inc., since October 2013. As president of Pennant Healthcare and as an operator since 2006, Mr. Burton has successfully operated skilled nursing facilities, developed leaders and directed the Company’s growth efforts across several states.  

 

Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Beverly B. Wittekind
Beverly B. Wittekind has served as our Vice President and General Counsel since November 2009, replacing Mr. Stapley in that role, and previously served as our Corporate Compliance Officer and as Vice President and General Counsel of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Ensign Facility Services, Inc., which operates our Service Center, since 2002. Prior to joining the Company, she worked at Vista Hospital Systems, a non-profit hospital system based in Corona, California, where she served as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice-President of Risk and Litigation Management. Ms. Wittekind is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School and began her career in private practice at Snell & Wilmer and was a partner in the firm Doyle, Winthrop, Oberbillig and West, both in Phoenix, Arizona, where she specialized in the defense of healthcare providers in medical malpractice litigation.