Leadership
Leadership
Joseph Checota
As a national leader in the development of outpatient buildings for 40 years, Joe Checota has participated in the development of 150 facilities located throughout the United States. He has been an officer of Landmark since founding the company 29 years ago. Mr. Checota has served as faculty for more than 300 medical building workshops and seminars, many of them sponsored by leading universities, the American Hospital Association, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Before beginning his career as a developer of outpatient buildings, Mr. Checota served as director of the U.S. Department of Commerce loan and grant program for economically depressed areas in the eastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was chairman of the Committee for the Future of Milwaukee in 1988 and 1989, and served as chairman or vice chairman of the Milwaukee Harbor Commission from 1978 to 1981. Mr. Checota currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Deeni Taylor
Prior to joining Landmark, Deeni Taylor served as Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Relationships for Healthpeak Properties, where he was responsible for developing and maintaining key partnerships within the healthcare industry. Healthpeak, a publicly traded healthcare REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange, holds assets valued at $25 billion.
Earlier in his career as a developer of outpatient and other healthcare buildings, Mr. Taylor was Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Milwaukee-based Physicians Realty Trust for nine years and Executive Vice President of Indianapolis-based Duke Realty for ten years. Before beginning his 20-year career as a healthcare real estate developer and investor, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for St. Vincent Health, an Ascension Health ministry encompassing 16 hospitals in central Indiana. He also served as President of Unity Health Management Services in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of Purdue University.
Ryan Marks
As President and Chief Operating Officer, Ryan Marks will oversee Landmark’s current operation and planned growth, with special emphasis on the development and construction of new outpatient buildings and a nationwide expansion of partnerships between Landmark and hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers.
Before he joined Landmark, Ryan Marks was the Vice President for facility planning and development of the $7.5 billion Froedtert ThedaCare, where he managed the operation and maintenance of existing healthcare buildings, the development of healthcare real estate strategies, real estate capital and campus planning and the design, development and construction of new healthcare buildings.
During Ryan Mark’s five-year tenure at Froedtert ThedaCare, he led a 175-person staff that managed a $125 million annual budget for the operation and maintenance of existing healthcare buildings and a $250 million annual budget for the development of new healthcare buildings for Froedtert ThedaCare’s 18 hospitals, 6 surgery centers and more than 400 healthcare sites in Eastern Wisconsin.
Earlier in his career, Ryan Marks served as the Vice President of Real Estate Development and Market Leader for Ryan Companies, US. During his nine-year tenure at Ryan Companies, he managed the development of numerous healthcare buildings, including the $32.5 million Froedtert Mequon Health Center, $26.2 million Froedtert Orthopedic Sports & Spine Center, $13.8 million Children’s Hospital Delafield Clinic, $14.2 million Children’s Hospital Mequon Clinic, $19.1 million Froedtert Pewaukee Community Hospital, and $14.4 million Froedtert Integrated Service Center.
Dan Brandt
Dan Brandt brings more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate banking to Landmark Healthcare Facilities. He has provided debt financing for more than $1 billion in real estate projects across a wide range of asset classes, including outpatient medical buildings, multi-family, retail, and industrial. Mr. Brandt was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Landmark in 2025.
Before joining Landmark, Mr. Brandt served as Senior Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate department at Old National Bank. Earlier in his career, he held credit underwriting positions in the commercial real estate departments of Associated Bank and M&I Bank (now BMO Harris Bank), where he specialized in evaluating and structuring project finance deals.
Mr. Brandt is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Michael Cleary
Michael Cleary is a 19-year veteran of Landmark. Earlier in his Landmark career, he served as the Senior Vice President for Property Management and EVP for Development. He successfully managed the 2021 sale of a $750 million Landmark portfolio of outpatient buildings.
As the EVP for Asset Management and Operations, Michael Cleary will manage real estate capital expenditures, lease execution and maintenance and the expansion and improvement of Landmark’s IT System. He will lead the asset and property management program for outpatient buildings that are currently under the ownership of Landmark. He will also lead the due diligence, portfolio integration and asset and property management program for existing outpatient buildings Landmark acquires from healthcare providers.
Before he joined Landmark, Mr. Cleary was responsible for the management of approximately three million square feet of commercial space and more than 2,000 residential units as a Vice President of the Rubinoff Company in Pittsburgh.
Earlier in his career, Michael Cleary managed a portfolio of more than two million square feet of office and industrial space as a Vice President of Realty Growth Corporation in Pittsburgh. He also served as a Regional Property Manager for Realmark Corporation in Lansing, Michigan. Mr. Cleary received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University. He is a Certified Property Manager.
Steve Kroening
Steve Kroening has been exclusively involved in the design and construction of outpatient and other healthcare buildings for 40 years. Prior to joining Landmark six years ago, he spent 25 years as a Senior Project Executive with the Hammes Company, a national developer of outpatient facilities. During his tenure there, he managed several major healthcare projects, including the development and construction of a $182 million cardiac center and patient tower expansion for Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, an 866,000-square-foot, $450 million hospital for Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois, and a 305,000-square-foot translational and biomedical research center for the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Kroening managed the development and construction of numerous outpatient buildings and hospitals for two other national healthcare facility developers. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management with a concentration in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville.