LeadingAge names new CEO

LeadingAge has named Katrinka (Katie) Smith Sloan as its new president and CEO, replacing the retiring long-time CEO Larry Minnix. The unanimous vote for Sloan, who is currently serving as LeadingAge’s chief operating officer and as the executive director of the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA), came late Friday from the organization's Board of Directors.

“When we announced the search process in February, we pledged to identify an ‘impressive leader,’ and she is most certainly that,” said David Gehm, chair of the LeadingAge board of directors and the chair of Wellspring Lutheran Services, Frankenmuth, MI., in an association announcement sent via email. “Each of us on the search committee felt she was the right person to build on the excellent work of Larry Minnix, and would lead the organization with just the right blend of honoring the rich traditions of LeadingAge while adjusting to meet the many challenges of the future.”   

Larry Minnix, who has served as LeadingAge’s president and CEO for the past 15 years, said in an association statement, “She is a superb person who will use her strong management skills, her knowledge of consumer protection advocacy, and her financial and organizational prowess to make a great leader of this wonderful organization. There is no question in my mind that she will take LeadingAge to the next level and beyond, and I look forward to watching both Katie and the organization excel.”

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.