Storage Asset Management announces Five organizational changes

Posted by Modern Storage Media on Sep 11, 2024 5:47:49 PM

Storage Asset Management (SAM), the largest privately owned self-storage third-party management firm, has announced a series of strategic organizational changes to amplify leadership capabilities and align key functions.

Darren Laratonda

Darren Laratonda from senior vice president of corporate operations to COO. He joined SAM in 2022 and his previous positions include call center director and senior vice president of corporate operations. Before joining SAM, he spent 11 years with Life Storage in roles such as vice president of operations and vice president of customer care and training and development. The COO provides leadership on the day-to-day operations of SAM, including field operations, corporate operations, customer care center, virtual operations, and revenue management.

Michael Stratton

Michael Stratton is being promoted from vice president of project management to vice president of corporate operations. Prior to joining SAM in July 202, he worked at Life Storage for 23 years, focusing on project management and various strategic roles. Reporting directly to the COO, the vice president of corporate pperations provides leadership on the key support functions under corporate operations.

Ronn Tisby

Ronn Tisby is being promoted from director of the customer care center to vice president of customer care. Before joining SAM in 2022, Tisby was with Life Storage for six years, where he held various strategic positions, including senior client relations manager. Also reporting to the COO, the vice president of customer care drives collaboration between virtual operations and the customer care center.

Lee Kunkel

Lee Kunkel is being promoted from director of corporate operations to director of virtual operations. He started with SAM in 2013 as an assistant store manager and was later promoted to store manager. By early 2017, Kunkel was promoted to district manager and earned company’s District Manager of the Year award in 2019. In 2021, he transitioned to the corporate side of SAM, joining as the senior training and development manager, where he played a pivotal role in establishing SAM’s training department. Kunkel advanced to the director of operations role, overseeing the training, compliance, and operations support. He has also been awarded the SAM Core Values Award twice. The director of virtual operations will oversee and optimize the management of storage facilities through virtual means and report to the vice president of customer care.

Susan Newcomer

Susan Newcomer will transition from corporate operations to human resources as its director. She began with SAM in 2022, overseeing the training and development team. As the HR director, Newcomer will continue to oversee training and development while also focusing on organizational development and succession planning.