Pete is a Program Director for Leadership & Performance for Team Performance Institute, leading client engagements as an expert in leadership, organizational change and human performance.

Pete served as the Human Performance Program Chief at the U.S. Special Operations Command. While there, he led more than 200 strength coaches, physical therapists, performance dietitians and sport psychologists responsible for the physical and mental readiness and resiliency of more than 30,000 special forces operatives, including Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Army Rangers and Air Force Pararescue operators.

Pete also served as Director and Associate Professor at the U.S. Military Academy Center for Enhanced Performance at West Point. He oversaw extensive research in the area of human performance and has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals on the psychology of everything from military hand-to-hand combat to mixed martial arts and ultra-marathon racing competitions. He’s a frequent lecturer on the impact of sleep on performance. Pete also built and directed the Thayer Scholars Program at West Point to provide comprehensive academic development for cadets with outstanding potential.

An alumnus of the U.S. Naval Academy and an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Special Forces Sniper Course, Pete served as an officer in the Navy and Army, leading combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and serving on planning staffs for strategic engagement throughout the Middle East. He retired as an Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel after 22 years of service.

Pete has a master’s degree in organizational and social psychology from Columbia University and a PhD in kinesiology from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. He’s also a certified yoga teacher, black belt in Aikido, and a rated instructor in the Russian martial art Combat Systema. He regularly practices mindfulness meditation and teaches martial arts in Tampa, Florida where he lives with his wife Carolyn Westlake and their son.