Bright Horizons
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Child care services |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Linda A. Mason, Roger H. Brown |
| Headquarters | Newton, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, India |
Key people | Stephen Kramer (CEO) |
| Products | Employer-sponsored child care, backup care for children and elders, tuition program management, educational consulting, student loan repayment solutions |
Number of employees | 30,000+ |
| Website | https://www.brighthorizons.com |
Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. is a leading American provider of child care services and stands as the largest company offering employer-sponsored child care. Beyond child care, the firm delivers backup care for children and elders, manages tuition programs, provides educational consulting, and facilitates student loan repayment solutions. Its corporate headquarters are located in Newton, Massachusetts.
Since 2006, the company has grown through several significant acquisitions, including College Coach, EdAssist Solutions, EdLink, nursery operators such as Kidsunlimited, Asquith Court, and Teddies Nurseries, the family services platform Sittercity, and the tuition program management firm GP Strategies.
History
Bright Horizons was established in 1986 by Linda A. Mason and Roger H. Brown. The company launched its initial two centers in 1987 at Boston’s Prudential Center and Cambridge’s One Kendall Square. Expansion to California occurred in 1993 following the acquisition of Cornerstone West.
In 1996, Mason and Brown received Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. The company went public in 1997 with the ticker symbol BRHZ. After merging with Corporate Family Solutions in 1998, it was renamed Bright Horizons Family Solutions and traded under BFAM. Between 1998 and 2019, Bright Horizons was recognized 18 times on FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list.
The headquarters relocated to Watertown, Massachusetts in 2000, coinciding with international growth through acquiring London-based Nurseryworks and Dublin-based Circle of Friends. By 2003, Bright Horizons had opened its 500th center at Citibank’s service facility in San Antonio.
The introduction of center-based backup child care began in 1992, which evolved into the Back-Up Care Advantage program launched in 2006 that expanded services to include both in-home child and elder care.
The acquisition of college advising firm College Coach in 2006 brought its founder Stephen Kramer onto the executive leadership team; he was appointed CEO in 2018.
Mary Ann Tocio held the roles of president and COO from 2000 until her retirement in 2015; the company’s internal learning platform is named Mary Ann Tocio University (MATU) as a tribute to her contributions.
David Lissy served as CEO from 2002 to 2018, overseeing international expansion before transitioning to executive chairman.
In 2008, Bright Horizons transitioned back to private ownership through a partnership with Bain Capital. Two years later, it launched Tuition Advisory Services to assist employers with managing tuition reimbursement programs strategically.
The company returned to public markets on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013 under the ticker BFAM.
In 2020, Priya Krishnan joined Bright Horizons’ executive team; she previously founded and led KLAY Schools, which is India’s largest childcare organization.
Notable Acquisitions
In 2006, Bright Horizons acquired College Coach, a firm specializing in college advising.
The company purchased British childcare provider Teddies Nurseries from Bupa in April 2009.
In 2011, Bright Horizons expanded its Tuition Advisory Services by acquiring EdAssist, Inc., which was later renamed EdAssist Solutions. That same year, it also obtained a majority interest in Dutch company Kindergarten.
The acquisition of EdLink, LLC took place in 2013 to further enhance EdAssist Solutions; concurrently, Bright Horizons acquired kidsunlimited, adding 64 nursery locations.
In 2016, the purchase of Asquith Court Group added another 100 nurseries to its operations.
Bright Horizons grew EdAssist Solutions further by acquiring GP Strategies’ tuition program management division in 2019.
In 2020, it acquired Sittercity, a Chicago-based online marketplace dedicated to family support services.
Activity
Bright Horizons manages a network of more than 1,000 child care facilities across the globe, with upwards of 700 centers located in the United States and Canada, over 300 in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and two centers in India. The organization’s workforce exceeds 30,000 employees.
In January 2021, Bright Horizons was penalized £800,000 in Edinburgh after violating Scottish health and safety regulations, following the tragic death of an unattended infant linked to insufficient staff training.
Bright Horizons Foundation for Children
Originally launched in 1988 as the Horizons Initiative, this foundation focuses on supporting homeless children in the Greater Boston area. In 1999, the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children was created to assist nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping children and families. Based in Newton, Massachusetts, its primary program, Bright Spaces, designs and establishes play areas for children experiencing crises within nonprofit and community service organizations.