Hospitality Meets Home Care: BrightStar Care Appoints New CCO

CHICAGO – November 10, 2026 – In an era where the lines between consumer experience and healthcare delivery are increasingly blurred, the home care industry is looking outside its traditional borders for leadership. BrightStar Care, a prominent national provider of nurse-led home care and medical staffing, announced today the appointment of Lori Gustafson as its new Chief Commercial Officer. The strategic hire highlights a growing trend: the importation of hospitality and consumer marketing playbooks into the rapidly expanding, highly competitive home healthcare sector.

Gustafson, whose resume boasts executive tenures at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Travel + Leisure Co., and United Parks & Resorts, steps into the C-suite to oversee marketing, national accounts, and product innovation across BrightStar Care’s sprawling network. As the aging U.S. population accelerates the shift of medical and personal care into the home, companies are realizing that clinical excellence must be paired with world-class consumer engagement to capture market share.

"Lori brings a rare combination of commercial strategy, digital expertise and a proven ability to build brands and drive growth at scale," said Josh Wall, CEO of BrightStar Care. "Her experience leading global commercial and marketing teams—and translating market opportunity into measurable business results—makes her the right leader to strengthen how we attract and convert clients, innovate within the brand's service lines and client experience, and expand opportunities through National Accounts."

The Hospitality Playbook in Healthcare

For decades, healthcare providers relied primarily on physician referrals and localized reputation to drive patient acquisition. Today, the modern healthcare consumer demands the same frictionless digital experience, brand reliability, and personalized communication they expect from a luxury hotel or a premium travel service.

Gustafson’s background is steeped in this exact brand of consumer loyalty. At Marriott Vacations Worldwide, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, navigating the complexities of direct-to-consumer sales, digital marketing transformation, and global brand management across a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Her prior experience as Chief Marketing Officer at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (now United Parks & Resorts) further cements her expertise in driving customer acquisition and transforming brand engagement.

Industry analysts note that this cross-pollination of talent is a calculated move. By bringing a hospitality veteran into the home care space, BrightStar Care aims to differentiate its nurse-led model in a crowded market. The goal is to build a commercial engine that not only attracts families seeking care but retains them through an elevated, hospitality-like client experience. In a sector frequently plagued by fragmented communication and opaque processes, applying a consumer-centric lens can fundamentally reshape how families navigate in-home care.

The modern family navigating eldercare is often overwhelmed, stressed, and seeking reassurance. A commercial strategy rooted in hospitality understands that the product is not just the medical service; it is the peace of mind delivered to the family. By leveraging data-driven customer relationship management systems and personalized digital touchpoints—tools Gustafson mastered in the vacation ownership industry—care providers can anticipate needs, streamline onboarding, and maintain transparent communication. This intersection of high-tech marketing and high-touch care is where the future of the industry is being forged.

Scaling Franchised Care Under Private Equity

The appointment also signals the next phase of growth for BrightStar Care under the stewardship of Peak Rock Capital, a middle-market private equity firm that acquired the franchisor in April 2022. When Peak Rock Capital took the reins, the company operated roughly 350 locations. Today, that footprint has expanded to more than 440 franchised locations nationwide, employing over 15,000 caregivers and 5,700 registered nurses.

Private equity's playbook in healthcare franchising typically involves aggressive scaling, optimizing operational efficiencies, and professionalizing the C-suite to drive enterprise value. Gustafson’s arrival follows other key executive appointments orchestrated under Peak Rock Capital’s ownership, including the additions of Chief Financial Officer Theresa Edelstein and Chief Information Officer Tim Hadley in 2023. Together, this revamped leadership team is tasked with building a centralized infrastructure capable of supporting massive national scale.

For a franchise network, a robust centralized commercial strategy is vital. Franchisees rely on corporate leadership to provide brand recognition, national marketing campaigns, and lead generation that they could not afford independently. By investing heavily in a Chief Commercial Officer with a track record of multi-billion-dollar revenue growth, the franchisor is signaling to its current and prospective franchise owners that it is committed to driving local unit economics through sophisticated, enterprise-level marketing.

The Battle for National Accounts

While direct-to-consumer marketing remains a cornerstone of the franchise model, the true battleground for sustainable, high-volume growth in home care lies in national accounts. BrightStar Care currently supports more than 180 national accounts, which typically include lucrative contracts with managed care organizations, large health systems, and corporate employers.

These business-to-business partnerships represent a strategic shift toward integrated healthcare delivery. As the broader healthcare industry pivots toward value-based care—where providers are incentivized based on patient outcomes and reduced hospital readmissions—health systems are actively seeking reliable home care partners.

"I'm excited to join BrightStar Care at a moment when more families than ever are turning to trusted, nurse-led care in the home," Gustafson noted in the announcement. "I look forward to helping franchise owners reach more clients in their communities, convert more of the demand in their markets and build partnerships that open new doors. My focus is on generating sustainable growth for franchisees across the network while positioning the brand for category leadership."

Competing for these national contracts requires sophisticated operational capabilities and stringent compliance standards. Unlike some of its largest competitors, such as Home Instead or Visiting Angels, which traditionally focus heavily on non-medical companion care, BrightStar Care leverages its Joint Commission accreditation and nurse-led model to secure more clinically complex, higher-acuity accounts. This medical staffing capability provides a distinct competitive advantage when negotiating with health systems that require a continuum of care ranging from basic assistance to skilled nursing.

Franchisee Impact and the Future of Home Care

The success of this commercial overhaul ultimately hinges on its reception at the local level. In the franchise ecosystem, centralized initiatives are only as valuable as the tangible profitability they deliver to individual operators. National accounts can drive significant volume and higher revenue per client, but they also demand rigorous operational efficiency to ensure the complex care requirements do not erode profit margins.

Franchise industry experts observe that network owners generally welcome corporate investments in growth, provided the national contracts offer fair reimbursement rates and streamlined administrative support. Gustafson’s mandate will be to ensure that the influx of national partnerships and digital marketing leads translates smoothly into actionable, profitable business for the 440-plus locations across the country.

Additionally, the integration of technology is becoming a non-negotiable factor in securing and servicing these accounts. With the rise of telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and digital care coordination platforms, franchisors must equip their local operators with cutting-edge tools. Gustafson’s collaboration with Chief Information Officer Tim Hadley will likely be pivotal in ensuring that the commercial promises made at the national level are supported by robust, user-friendly technology at the bedside.

The home care industry is navigating profound macroeconomic challenges, most notably a severe workforce shortage. Attracting and retaining qualified caregivers and nurses is the primary bottleneck for growth. A strong commercial brand, built on the principles of hospitality and elevated experiences, can serve a dual purpose: attracting discerning clients and appealing to top-tier healthcare professionals who want to work for an industry leader.

As the demographic wave of aging baby boomers continues to crest, the demand for high-quality, reliable home care will only intensify. The integration of advanced commercial strategies, digital innovation, and consumer-focused brand building will likely become the new standard for survival and dominance in the sector. BrightStar Care's decision to look to the hospitality industry for its commercial leadership underscores a fundamental evolution in how the market operates, proving that providing excellent medical care is no longer enough; providers must now deliver an exceptional, cohesive consumer journey from the very first interaction to the delivery of care.