Larry Vaile and Brad Swearer have joined Hicks Ventures, bringing the firm to 17 team members and launching new divisions for the local firm. Larry will lead Hicks' new healthcare division as principal, while Brad will spearhead multifamily investments as director.

Founder Pat Hicks and CFO David Steadily have been talking about getting into the medical industry for a while. Pat sees healthcare as a resilient industry because people get sick regardless of the price of crude. Things are off to a hot start. Hicks Ventures already has two ground-up hospitals in the pipeline totaling $42M.

Brad, who completed nearly $1B in acquisitions at MSI, says Hicks is underwriting a few multifamily properties but nothing has been finalized yet. Hicks Ventures is waiting for the right opportunity to make an acquisition.

Pat says the two additions are about seizing the opportunity of the downturn. “A lot of times, the folks who mash on the gas pedal when everyone else is slamming on the brakes come out of these downturns looking pretty good. You just better have the right team steering.”

Above, we snapped Brad, Hicks COO Debbie Moyer, Pat, David and Larry.