Lyons’ on-site days may not always be a memory. When she retires from her job as BH Management’s CEO one day, she’d like to return to being an on-site property manager. “I look forward to the day of going back to having a portfolio of one property and taking care of those 300 residents to the best of my ability,” she says. Maybe she’ll even decide it’s time to move into her own office.
But don’t count on it.
Corporate Shuffle
To accommodate the company’s rapid growth, BH Management Services recently decided to add a position dedicated exclusively to managing the operations of its 30,000-plus properties. So in January, the company restructured its top spots: Steve Roach was promoted from vice president of operations to president, while Laurie Lyons moved to the newly created CEO position.
As CEO, Lyons handles big-picture plans such as keeping BH on top of industry trends, and she runs the company’s growing construction division. She also will have more time to do what she likes best: Visit properties and mentor employees. “I was so busy with the day-to-day operations, it got to the point where going to a property felt like an intrusion of my time,” says Lyons. “Now I like the luxury of being able to put on my Day-Timer four properties every week.”
But the transition from president to CEO isn’t an easy one for Lyons, who admits she has a hard time distancing herself from the company’s daily operations. Her biggest challenge over the next few years? “Being able to sit back and watch my baby be successful,” she says.