Tenant Profile: Granger Cobb

Granger Cobb works in an industry with a healthy outlook. As CEO of Summerville Senior Living Inc., he is in charge of 76 senior residential and assisted-living communities nationwide, and he plans to acquire more. Cobb’s family inspired him to go into healthcare—his father was a physician and he was close to his grandparents while growing up. In 1989, Cobb sold his house to buy a residential-care facility and has never looked back. “It always seemed like a good fit,” he says. “There’s nothing else I want to do.”

Résumé
Name: Granger Cobb
Title: President and CEO
Company: Summerville Senior Living Inc.
Location: Bishop Ranch 8
Number of employees: 75 at headquarters, 4,500 nationwide
Year business was founded: 1996
Number of years at Bishop Ranch: 8

Company Profile
Headquarters: San Ramon
Business: “We operate independent-living, assisted-living and Alzheimers’ dementia communities. We’re now in 13 states with capacity for 7,500 people, which averages out to 100 residents per community.”
Business approach: “We’ve been very successful at acquiring existing communities that weren’t operating at full potential and then implementing our systems and procedures to deliver exceptional service for residents.”
Biggest challenge: “Maintaining focus and motivation throughout a very widespread organization.”
Biggest risk taken: “Selling my house and everything I owned to acquire my first facility in San Pablo.”
Favorite task: “Reviewing positive operating reports, both financial and qualitative, during monthly reviews. Having good metrics really excites me.”
Least favorite task: “Traveling. I’m on the road at least two weeks every month.”
Your source of inspiration: “My family, employees and the residents.”

Personal Philosophy
Best way to motivate staff: “Providing very clear guidance with respect to goals and objectives, and then providing incentives with respect to the outcomes.”
Suggestions for up-and-coming executives: “Seek out the smartest, most talented people you can find to assemble a team that works well together and complements each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Goals you still want to achieve: “I want to run the San Francisco Marathon in under four hours, and break 80 in a round of golf.”
Favorite pastimes: “Running, golfing and skiing.”
Favorite stress busters: “Same as above, plus lying on the beach.”
Favorite vacation spot: “Hawaii’s Big Island.”
Favorite band: “The Frey. They’re kind of folksy rock. My teenage daughter keeps me up on all the latest groups.”
Favorite causes: “My wife and I support animal rescue groups, and we’ve taken in a number of cats and dogs.”

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