Background

Mr. Hickman is a seasoned executive with expertise underwriting and managing health care real estate investments with a focus on seniors housing and post-acute care investments in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This experience includes playing a lead or primary role in nearly $20 billion of real estate investments including approximately $5 billion of dispositions and restructurings.

Job experience

• March 2024 - present
  Principal
  Sugar Ridge Advisers, LLC
  

  Bowling Green, OH, USA

  Boutique consulting firm providing transaction advice and loan origination, primarily for seniors housing operators.
  
  Established a new consulting firm to leverage a robust skillset spanning various real estate asset classes with a focus on seniors housing and health care properties. Accomplishments included:
   Relying on existing network of investor relationships and outreach to new realtor and investment partners, originated over $100 million of loans and $20 million of equity investments.
   Advising national and regional seniors housing operators on specific transaction underwriting and best investment valuation practices utilized by institutional real estate investment companies.
  

• August 2021 - January 2025
  Adjunct Instructor
  Bowling Green State University
  

  Bowling Green, OH, USA

  Relying on experience in real estate investments, valuation, and transaction execution, developed a course that instructs fundamentals of real estate investment for undergraduate students.
   Implemented several learning innovations including one-on-one purchase agreement negotiations, guest speakers on specific topics, and a negotiations workshop.
   Successfully led students to create final projects that included a comprehensive presentation outlining a real estate investment opportunity along with estimated financials and return analysis.

• May 2018 - February 2024
  SVP - Investments
  Invesque Inc.
  

  Fishers, IN, USA

  Diversified health care real estate holding company that invests in real property and operating companies.
  
  Remotely led a team comprising of up to five investment professionals focused on acquiring and monitoring investments in seniors housing, skilled nursing, and medical office properties and related operating companies. The team’s responsibilities included underwriting investments across all health care real estate asset classes, actively managing troubled assets already owned by the company, and assisting in the creation of quarterly public reporting. Major accomplishments included:
   Creatively restructuring the company’s largest master lease investment which generated revenues of over $30 million using a novel approach that aligned interests between all parties and stabilized the performance of the portfolio without sacrificing shareholder value.
   Successfully consummated $500 million of new investments without raising traditional equity.
   Developed the investment thesis behind becoming the first vertically integrated owner of senior housing among Invesque’s peers to win the acquisition of Commonwealth Senior Living.
   Successfully led the company’s efforts to dispose of non-core assets to focus on private pay seniors housing, including 51 properties sold since the beginning of 2021 for $400 million.
  

• May 2006 - April 2018
  Vice President - Investments
  Welltower Inc.
  

  Toledo, OH, USA

  Real estate investment trust that invests in seniors housing, post-acute care, and medical office buildings.
  
  Led a team of three investment professionals managing a portfolio of properties valued more than $4.5 billion. The team’s responsibilities include underwriting investments across all asset classes in which Welltower has invested: seniors housing (absolute net and RIDEA structures), acute care, post-acute, and medical office. Investments are made through a variety of means including asset and entity acquisitions, development, mortgage lending, mezzanine financing, and direct equity investments. Key initiatives included:
   Collaborated with senior leaders in development of company’s strategic plan and developed and deployed specific business plans for existing investments.
   Played a central role in asset dispositions resulting in the sale of approximately $4 billion of assets including structuring and managing a real estate joint venture with a Chinese investment firm generating over $4 million of asset management fees for the company annually.
   Managed the company’s investments and relationship with Genesis HealthCare, one of the highest profile and most challenging investments for the company over the past 10 years.
   Utilized industry expertise in successfully underwriting and negotiating the company’s first sale-and-leaseback transaction in the United Kingdom with Signature Senior Lifestyles and supported underwriting investments in Canada with Revera.
   Employed strategic asset management in bankruptcy and impairment situations including managing three investments through bankruptcy over ten other investment restructurings.

Education

• University of Michigan
  MBA
  

  2016 - 2018

  With High Distinction
  Phi Kappa Phi (top 10% of all graduates)
  Beta Gamma Sigma (top 20% of Ross students)
  
• Case Western Reserve University
  Bachelor of Arts
  

  2002 - 2005

  Bachelor of Arts, English and Economics (Honors)
  Minor in German
  Cum Laude