Three Brookdale executives are included in an annual "who's who" list of Nashville's healthcare leaders. President and CEO Cindy Baier is joined by Executive VP and President of Senior Living Cindy Kent and Division President of Health Care Services Anna-Gene O'Neal in the 2020 issue of InCharge by Nashville Medical News.
This annual edition celebrates the thought leaders who are driving healthcare forward in Nashville. It is published each January.
The following are profiles of the Brookdale executives featured in InCharge / Healthcare 2020.
Cindy Baier
Baier has served as Brookdale's president, chief executive and member of the board since February 2018 after having served as chief financial officer since December 2015. She has more than 25 years of broad financial and operational experience and has helped guide private equity-backed ventures, as well as large Fortune 100 public companies. Baier sits on the Nashville Health Care Council Board of Directors and serves on the board of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry. A certified public accountant, she earned both her undergraduate and master's degrees in accounting from Illinois State University.
Cindy Kent
Kent joined Brookdale in January, 2020 as executive vice president and president of senior living. She previously served as president and general manager of the 3M Infection Prevention Division from 2016 to 2018 and as president and general manager of 3M’s Drug Delivery Systems Division from 2014 and 2016. Prior to that, Kent held senior leadership roles at Medtronic. She earned an MBA in marketing and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University. Kent also holds an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University, earned certification in Strategic Finance from the Harvard Business School and is a six sigma green belt trained.
Anna-Gene O'Neal
O’Neal became division president of Health Care Services in August 2019, after having joined the company as division vice president of BHS Hospice in June 2019. She came to Brookdale from Alive Hospice where she had served as president and CEO since 2012. Prior to that, O’Neal held a number of leadership roles, including senior vice president, of CogentHMG, and vice president of Hospital Operations and Clinical Quality for Essent Healthcare, Inc., a multistate for-profit hospital system. Ms. O’Neal is a registered nurse and received BSN, MSN and MBA degrees from Vanderbilt University. A 2015 Council Fellow, O'Neal is a past Nashville Medical News "Women to Watch" honoree.
