BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — CoreCivic has named Lucibeth Mayberry its new president and CEO after Patrick Swindle stepped down from the role due to health reasons.
The Brentwood-based private prison company announced the leadership change Friday. Swindle said he is pursuing treatment for stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer. He also resigned from CoreCivic’s board of directors.
Mayberry, who has worked at CoreCivic since 2003, was appointed to replace Swindle as both president and CEO and as a member of the company’s board. She most recently served as executive vice president and chief strategy officer, a position she had held since May 2025.
Swindle had only been CEO since Jan. 1, when he succeeded longtime chief executive Damon Hininger following Hininger’s retirement at the end of 2025. Swindle previously became CoreCivic’s president and chief operating officer at the start of 2025.
“It has been the greatest professional honor of my life to serve as President and CEO of this Company,” Swindle said in a statement. He said he had worked closely with Mayberry for 19 years on a number of major strategic matters.
Mayberry said she plans to continue the company’s current capital allocation strategy and focus on operational performance.
“I am fully committed to continuing the current capital allocation strategy, maintaining our focus on operational excellence, and look forward to building on the progress already underway,” Mayberry said.
CoreCivic is one of the Nashville region’s largest publicly traded companies and one of the country’s largest private operators of correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities. The company contracts with government agencies to operate prisons, detention centers and other facilities.
Mayberry has held several leadership roles during her more than two decades with CoreCivic, including executive vice president and chief innovation officer and executive vice president of real estate. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, a law degree from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Laws in taxation from the University of Florida.
Swindle will remain with CoreCivic as a special adviser during the leadership transition, according to the company.
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