Chairman & CEO
Tom Grape
Tom Grape is founder, chairman and CEO of Benchmark. Since 1997, he has led Benchmark to become the largest senior housing company in the Northeast. With 6,300 associates and more than 60 communities across seven states, Benchmark has assets under management of over $2.5 billion.
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
Jerry Liang
Jerry Liang is chief financial officer and executive vice president responsible for development, asset management, capital structuring, investor relations, accounting, treasury, and risk management.
Before joining Benchmark in February 2021, Jerry served as senior vice president of investments and development at Sunrise Senior Living, based in McLean, Virginia, for 13 years.
Chief Operations Officer and Executive Vice President
John Hartmayer
John Hartmayer is chief operations officer and executive vice president responsible for all community operations, including resident care, programming, culinary, and legal.
Before joining Benchmark in March 2021, John served as senior vice president of operations for the east division of Atria Senior Living, based in Louisville, KY, and was with the company for more than 20 years.
Senior Vice President, Operations
Bob Moran
Bob Moran serves as Senior Vice President of Operations with Benchmark, where he oversees all aspects of the day-to-day operations within each of Benchmark's communities.
Bob started as the Executive Director of Cabot Park Village in 2001, and went on to serve as an Executive Director in six Benchmark communities, Regional Director of Operations, Divisional VP of Operations, VP of Human Resources and VP of Operations. Bob has been in his current role of SVP of Operations since January 2017. Bob has served as a board member of Mass ALFA since 2013, as well as a member of the National Argentum HR Roundtable.
Senior Vice President of Operations, Mind and Memory Care Division
Allison Melahouris
Allison Melahouris serves as Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategic Initiatives with Benchmark. In this role, she spearheads new business and strategic opportunities, facilitating entry into new spaces and determining new community offerings. Allison is also the overall operational lead for continuing care retirement communities and all new starts.
Allison joined Benchmark in July 2009. Prior to her current role, she held multiple roles with Sunrise Senior Living from 2000-2009. She most recently served as Vice President of Operations for 70 communities throughout the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic markets. Allison received a B.A. in Gerontology from Molloy College. She is a member of the Argentum Clinical Roundtable, as well as an Advisory Board member of Little Sisters of the Poor.
Managing Director of CCRCs
Sarah Laffey
Sarah Laffey leads accounting, finance, new acquisitions and development as well as investor and lender relations. She joined Benchmark 10 years ago with over a decade of investment banking experience at Ziegler Capital Markets and Sovereign Bank.
Sarah is a highly regarded resource on real estate equity and debt structuring, evaluating acquisition opportunities and real estate valuation and analysis. During her tenure at Benchmark, she’s overseen the acquisition of many communities and formed and grown many new and existing investor relationships. Her work has helped make it possible for Benchmark to serve significantly more families throughout the Northeast.
Before joining Benchmark, Sarah was a director at Ziegler Capital Markets where she was responsible for developing the firms’ investment banking business focused on for-profit CCRC owners and developers. Previous to Ziegler, she was a senior vice president for Sovereign Bank. There, she ran their national senior living financing group, focusing on providing loans for continuing care retirement, independent living and assisted living communities, as well as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.
Throughout her career, Sarah has continued to provide expert knowledge to others in the industry, having spoken at Ziegler’s LeadingAge National Senior Living CFO Workshop, for the American Seniors Housing Association, The SeniorCare Investor and many others.
Sarah earned a B.S. in Accounting from Providence College and is also a CFA Charter Holder. She is a member of the New Hampshire Humane Society and the Boston Security Analyst Society. Her interests include traveling, skiing, running, boating and golfing.