Brad Hunter, a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur who scaled Care Hospice into a multi-state operator, has been named Chief Financial Officer of Atlantis Fire Protection, the Dallas-based fire protection services consolidator, effective immediately, the company announced on July 13, 2026. The appointment comes as Atlantis closes its sixth acquisition in three years and signals momentum in the company's strategy to build a founder-friendly platform across the Southeastern United States.
Hunter brings three decades of experience building and scaling healthcare companies, including founding two hospice firms before building Care Hospice from its 2008 inception into one of the nation's largest providers. Patrick Lynch, Atlantis Fire's Chief Executive Officer, said Hunter's "leadership, financial expertise, and strategic mindset" would "strengthen our financial foundation and position the company for long-term success." William Lynch, the company's Chairman and co-founder, emphasized a decade-long relationship with Hunter, describing him as "as talented a financial manager as I've come across." No search firm involvement was disclosed in the appointment announcement.
Hunter earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on economics, management and finance from the University of Florida and worked at Ernst & Young early in his career. More prominently, he founded Hospice Care of Louisiana in 1997 and Community Hospices of America in 2003, which was later renamed Compassus. He subsequently founded a Virginia-based hospice operation that became the foundation for Care Hospice, which he established in 2008. Under his leadership, Care Hospice expanded to operate 24 agencies across eight states while maintaining a strict compliance culture. Hunter also served on the boards of multiple private equity-backed companies and held leadership positions within the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, including chairing its Regulatory and Audit committees.
Atlantis Fire Protection, headquartered in Dallas and backed by Lynch Holdings and Nashville-based Capital Alignment Partners, operates as a platform for acquiring regional fire protection companies while allowing founder-operators to retain operational control and individual brand identities. The company currently operates six portfolio companies across Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, providing design, installation, inspection and maintenance services for fire sprinkler, fire alarm and life safety systems. Most recently, Atlantis acquired Bama Fire Protection in Birmingham, Alabama, and Palmetto Fire Services in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The company stated it now operates across more than ten states.
Hunter's appointment reflects the strategic financial challenges facing rapidly consolidating service businesses. Fire protection services, historically fragmented among local and regional operators, has become an increasingly attractive private equity target as companies pursue multi-platform roll-ups and seek to unlock operational efficiencies and cross-selling opportunities across acquired entities. Hunter's experience managing the complex financial and operational scaling of Care Hospice from a single-location startup to a 24-agency enterprise spanning multiple states positions him to address similar challenges at Atlantis, particularly as the company identifies investment opportunities for profitable growth while integrating acquisitions. His background suggests the appointment prioritizes disciplined financial management and compliance infrastructure as Atlantis accelerates expansion, signaling confidence in the sustainability of the founder-led model Lynch has championed.
