New Covenant Living President: Alignment, Resident Experience Will Define Our Next Chapter

In less than a month, Covenant Living will have a new president.

Jay Hibbard on Oct. 1 is ascending to the higher role of president, succeeding current President David Erickson, who is also the organization’s CEO. Following the promotion, Erickson will retain his CEO role.

In his new role, Hibbard said his initial focus will center on setting new operational standards for excellence.

Expansion efforts

In 2026, Covenant has focused its efforts on renovations and expansions. Earlier this year, the organization completed a $30 million expansion of its Covenant Living of Grand Rapids community, which added 36 cottage homes at 18 duplex buildings. All of the cottages were reserved as of early August. In January, it completed a $66.5 million redevelopment plan at Covenant Living of Northbrook that brought in 36 apartment homes to meet the demand, as well as renovating the community’s town center.

Having worked with the Chicago-based organization for over a decade, Hibbard has a running start.

“We’re doing a lot right at this point in time, but it’s about working with the teams that are there in operations in all facets to really define that,” Hibbard told Senior Housing News.

Hibbard still will oversee growth, including affiliations and acquisitions, and communication efforts across the organization before the role is formally filled next month. As president, he plans to focus on Covenant’s home office to support its communities.

Leadership transition

“When I joined Covenant Living as president and CEO in 2024, one of my priorities was ensuring we had the right leadership structure to support our mission and long-term strategy,” Erickson said in a press release. “This transition creates greater alignment across the organization and strengthens our ability to deliver exceptional experiences for residents while supporting the teams who serve them every day.”

Occupancy at Covenant Living’s 20 communities is on the rise, with assisted living, living and memory care in the mid-90 percent range, residential living at about 94% occupancy and skilled nursing beds at 90% occupancy.

Future plans

Looking ahead, Covenant is making a “significant investment” on resident experiences and focusing retention efforts through centralized recruiting at the organization’s home office.

To close out 2026, Covenant is on track to finish its fiscal year with the highest amount of days cash on hand that it has had in nearly a decade, according to Hibbard, which is attributed to high occupancy rates.

“As we finish out the year, we expect that it’s going to be finishing on a very high level, and our goal is to is to continue that into the new fiscal year and into the calendar year of 2027,” Hibbard said.

Andrew Christman is a reporter for Senior Housing News as part of WTWH Media, an avid reader and writer. He enjoys new book finds from his local library, and playing tabletop games with friends.