Peter Wilkins

Peter Wilkins is the co-founder and CEO of New Futuro, a purpose-driven company that will provide Latino families with the knowledge, guidance and professional social network they need to get their students into college and beyond. He is very passionate about New Futuro because he believes it will make America stronger and the world a better place.

Peter learned his values from his father, who quit high school to serve America in World War II. Never graduating from high school, Peter’s father vowed to make sure all seven children graduated with a college degree despite his limited income and education. His father was able to realize his dream; Peter was the seventh and final child from his family to graduate from college.

This experience is very common to many Latino families. Their parents give up everything to try to make a better life for their children, which is the ultimate form of entrepreneurship. This idea drove Peter to conceptualized New Futuro in 2008 at his consulting firm, Omaxen Group. In 2009, Peter teamed with Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with $4 billion under management, to incubate New Futuro. The firm recently added another strong partner, AP Capital Partners, and will launch in 2011.

Prior to New Futuro, Peter worked with KKR Capstone (KKR’s operations group) as the President of PRIMEDIA Healthcare where he turned around the organization from record losses to record profits and built one of the premier online physician communities. Before PRIMEDIA, Peter successfully served in senior sales and marketing roles for two technology start-ups that collectively sold for more than $2.8 billion.

Peter holds a degree in business from Indiana University and graduated from the University of Chicago Booth Executive Institute. Peter is dedicated to creating a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chicago. He is very active with entrepreneurial causes including Excelerate Labs, TiE Midwest, midVentures and is a board member of the Hyde Park Angels, a 70+ member angel group that is affiliated with University of Chicago Booth and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. Peter and his family reside in Chicago, where he is involved with a number of non-profit organizations.