Pete First is the Chief Development Officer of BrightStar Care. As CDO Pete is responsible for recruiting new franchise owners for all three brands under the BrightStar Group Holdings umbrella: BrightStar Care, BrightStar Senior Living®, and BrightStar® Care Homes™ and leads operations for start-up brands, BrightStar Senior Living, and BrightStar Care Homes. With extensive experience in the franchise industry, Pete has expanded the BrightStar Care brand to new, untapped markets, under his leadership the brand has grown to 365 locations nationwide. His responsibilities include providing leadership, strategy, and direction to the franchise sales team in addition to putting systems in place to improve the overall franchise sales process. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, Pete spent 14 years at Winmark Corporation, the franchisor for brands such as Play It Again Sports, Once Upon A Child, Plato’s Closet, Style Encore, and Music Go Round. During his tenure at Winmark, he awarded dozens of new franchise agreements annually and helped build the system to over 1,200 locations across North America.