The 2005 CLTC Power & Influence Top 25.

Every industry has its leaders--the decision makers who hold the reins and help shape the path that the rest of us follow. Some of them are as recognizable to long term care as a certain Mr. Bush is to America, while others are behind-the-scenes players that make things happen. These upper-echelon folks are the ones we honor in Contemporary Long Term Care's annual Power & Influence Top 25.

This year's class of movers and shakers is a varied bunch. The roster includes association heads, senior executives, government officials, researchers and analysts. Some of these names are familiar in more ways than one: 12 of the final 25 appeared on CLTC's 2004 P & I list.

As we did in 2004, we first compiled a list of the industry's movers and shakers using nominations from the industry's top associations and members of the CLTC staff. We boiled down that list by employing the following criteria:

Notoriety. Is this person a household name? Is he or she someone you'd recognize walking down the street or while passing them at a conference? Have they "been around forever"?

Apparent influence. Does this person have the ability--through the contacts they have available during the course of their job--to get the job done?

Demonstrated influence. Does the person have a track record for accomplishing industry-impacting things, such as drafting and implementing new legislation, generating interest in a major issue with a new, critical report, or reviving a troubled company?

Innovative thinking. Did the person do something industry-impacting that he or she is considered "the father of," such as a new method in long term care?

Degree of responsibility/power. Is this person a prominent, high-ranking official at a company or association with major ties to the industry?

Recent accomplishments. The "What have you done for me lately?" category. Has the person made a major deal, developed a new product, earned a measure of respect or otherwise set themselves apart from the crowd in the past year?

Taking all these criteria into account, we developed this alphabetical list of the long term care industry's cream of the crop--the 2005 class of CLTC's Power & Influence Top 25.

Thilo Best: Chairperson, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Industries, Annapolis, Md.

Best helps NIC stay at the forefront of senior housing issues. He also tends shop as president and chief executive of Horizon Bay Management, Florida's largest senior housing manager, and is an executive board member for the American Seniors Housing Association.

Debra A. Cafaro: Chairperson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ventas Inc., Louisville, Ky.

The industry's third-largest real estate investment trust (by sales) continues to take solid shape under Cafaro's guidance. In 2005, Ventas initiated a $1.2 billion deal to acquire Provident Senior Living Trust in part due to the CEO's rock-hard negotiating skills. The company was also named Best-Performing REIT of the last five years by Morgan Stanley.

Sen. Larry Craig: (R-Idaho) Member, Senate Special Committee on Aging, Washington, D.C.

As the song goes, "I will not go quietly." Although he's no longer chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, people still recognize Sen. Craig as someone with enough connections to get something done about unfair bed taxes, potentially business-crippling budget cuts or other senior health issues.

William R. Floyd: President, Chairperson and CEO Beverly Enterprises Inc. Fort Smith, Ark.

It's been a long year for Floyd, who has been trying to fend off a hostile takeover of his company while still tending to business. But this jack-of-all-trades keeps getting the job done while making headlines guiding BEI to another solid year.

Joel F. Gemunder: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Omnicare Inc., Covington, Ky.

Long live the king: under Gemunder's guidance the leading provider of pharmaceutical products to the long term care industry had another banner year in 2004 and early 2005. Meanwhile, efforts to acquire competitor NeighborCare continue as Gemunder attempts to sway NC shareholders to his cause.

Thomas H. Grape: Chief Executive Officer, Benchmark Assisted Living, Wellesley Hills, Mass.

The now-former chairperson of the Assisted Living Federation of America kept himself busy in 2005, completing two acquisitions in four months and increasing the company's overall size by 700 percent since it started in 1998. Benchmark is now New England's largest assisted living provider and inside the top 20 nationwide.

Sen. Charles Grassley: (R-Iowa) Chairperson, Senate

As finance committee chair, Sen. Grassley holds considerable influence over the shape and scope of key "quality of life" issues and tax and spending matters impacting long term care. He's already unveiled legislation designed to reform aspects of Medicare, availability of-prescription drugs and operation of physician-owned specialty hospitals.

Richard Grimes: President and Chief Executive Officer, Assisted Living Federation of America, Fairfax, Va.

Grimes emerged from the "Who's this?" to the "What a guy!" category at ALFA since he got on board during late 2003. In that time, ALFA has launched a legal advocacy center, chided the national media, encouraged mental health studies and released a national AL checklist.

Stephen Guillard: Chairperson, Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, Washington, D.C.

The new executive vice president of Manor Care and former president of Harborside Healthcare carried the banner for the nursing home industry in 2005, speaking up about the state of Medicare reimbursement, healthcare reform and quality of care. Based on recent testimony before Congress, he's got the government's ear.

Daniel J. Hermann: Marketing Director, Ziegler Capital Markets Group, Chicago

As one of the nation's top underwriters of financing for senior Living providers, Ziegler--via Hermann and co.--also supplies data that keeps the industry up-to-date on financial affairs, especially the not-for-profit side. Hermann's 17-plus years, as an Investment banker make him a major guru in the senior living industry.

David J. Horazdovsky: President, Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Sioux Falls, S.D.

You may not have heard of him, but you've probably seen his services. Horazdovsky heads up the industry's largest not-for-profit long term care provider, a behemoth with a presence in 25 states. The Good Sam president stays out of the spotlight and focuses on the bigger picture: quality long term care.

Paul Klaassen: Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Sunrise Senior Living, McLean, Va.

Klaassen, who founded Sunrise in 1981 and has served as its chairperson and CEO since the beginning, saw his multi-billion-dollar company grow even more. Sunrise acquired two senior living communities for $230 million in 2005, and opened a community in Germany and launched a real estate investment trust in Canada in 2004.

Robert (Bob) Kramer: President, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Industries, Annapolis, Md.]

Still one of the certified household names in the long term care industry. When he's not writing or speaking about trends in seniors housing and long term care, Kramer also serves as president of Kramer Crosby, an Annapolis-based consulting firm providing strategic marketing services for the health care and seniors housing industries.

Dave Kyllo: Executive Director, National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, D.C.

While big brother AHCA covers issues involving the full medical industry, Kyllo oversees a unit that gives a voice to assisted living through diverse publications, a top-notch Web site, educational programs and public policy advocacy efforts. Think NCAL and Kyllo's name is near the top of the list.

Michael Leavitt: Secretary of Health and Human II Services, Washington, D.C.

Leavitt filled some big shoes left by Tommy Thompson when he ended his term in January. Thompson's size 13s included messy matters such as Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement and budget cuts, staffing shortages and health care quality. Leavitt apparently has size 14 feet, because he has the industry's respect now.

William (Larry) Minnix Jr.: President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Washington, D.C.]

It's another year and more of the same for Minnix--more promotion of the importance of long term care to America, subtler banner-waving and crusading about all that's good and lacking in the industry But after 31 years, who'd expect anything less?

Mark McClellan: PAdministrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Washington, D.C.

As the guy the industry complains to when they're mad about money, McClellan filled even bigger shoes left by predecessor Thomas Scully. During his first year in office, McClellan had to improve accuracy, efficiency and quality of payments to nursing homes without reducing industry revenue. Size 15s, anyone?

Stephen M. Monroe: Director, Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging UnivPartner, Irving Levin Associates Inc., New Canaan, Conn.

Just call him Mr. Mergers: as senior editor of The SeniorCare Investor, Monroe follows virtually every acquisition in the long term care industry, often predicting some before the handshake is made. Being the face of Irving Levin Associates, the industry's highly respected merger and finance group, doesn't hurt, either.

Anthony J. Mullen: Research Director, National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries, Annapolis, Md.

The man behind the stats that you gobble up when you read NIC's quarterly Key Financial Indicators reports. Without work such as this, the industry wouldn't know the state it's in. People definitely know Mullen, though--a NIC founder and executive officer at three major companies within the industry.

Sen. Gordon H. Smith: (R-Ore.) Chairperson, Senate Special Committee on Aging, Washington, D.C.

The committee's new chairperson has closer ties to long term care than his successful (and popular) predecessor. In his home state of Oregon, Smith, who is also co-chairman of the Senate Task Force on Medicare and Prescription Drugs, sponsored several initiatives to alleviate the nursing shortage and encourage training.

Buck Stinson: President, Genworth Financial Long Term Care, Richmond, Va.

During 2005 Stinson's research division produced two major reports on Alzheimer's and long term care costs that helped make Genworth--and Stinson--into recognizable names. Expect to see more of him in years to come as the importance of long term care insurance escalates.

Jeanette C. Takamura: (R-Ore.) Chairperson, Senate Special Committee on Aging, Washington, D.C.

Takamura has a long track record in developing long term care legislation, including creation of a modernized Older Americans Act and establishment of the National Family Caregiver Support program in 2000. Her current duties at ASA and as clean of gerontology at Columbia University keep her in the industry eye.

Steven Vick: President and Chief Executive Officer, Assisted Living Concepts, Dallas.

The former president of Alterra Healthcare Corp. put his 15-plus years of executive experience to work at ALC. In 2 1/2 years Vick made Assisted Living Concepts into a top 10 assisted living provider and an attractive buy for Extendicare Inc. He's also fitting into his new role as chairperson of ALFA.

Arnold Whitman: Chief Executive Officer, Formation Capital LLC, Alpharetta, Ga

Slf at first you don't succeed, try, try again: Whitman's influence and persistence in attempting to acquire the nation's largest nursing home chain eventually led to Beverly]Enterprises going up for auction. Guess who's putting in a bid?

Bruce Yarwood: Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, American Health Care Association and the National Center For Assisted Living, Washington, D.C.

AHCA's chief legislative counsel now sits in the big chair. An industry veteran, the man described as "an institution respected on both sides of the aisle," is considered the industry's most knowledgeable and effective advocate. He will need to draw on that knowledge to guide AHCA through rough waters