Debra Cafaro

Debra A. Cafaro is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc., an S&P 500 company and leading real estate investment trust operating at the intersection of healthcare and real estate. Ventas owns approximately 1,400 properties, serving a large and growing aging population. Under Cafaro’s leadership, Ventas’s market capitalization has grown from $200 million in 1999 to a high of over $30 billion, and the Company has delivered 19% annualized total shareholder return from the beginning of 2000 through March 31, 2025.

Cafaro has guided Ventas through the most significant economic and industry challenges of the 21st century, including the Great Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. She has received numerous professional recognitions, including being named one of the Top 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World for six consecutive years (Harvard Business Review); one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare six times (Modern Healthcare); and one of the Top 50 Women in World Business (Financial Times).

Cafaro serves on the Boards of Ventas, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., The University of Chicago and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. She received her JD from the University of Chicago Law School and BA from the University of Notre Dame. A lifelong sports fan, Cafaro is an owner of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins and National Women's Soccer League's Chicago Stars.