Carter
Carter
WHAT CARTER BELIEVES
“I believe that people are trying to do their best. I believe in the restorative power of hot showers. That ‘thank you’ is a perfect prayer, and that my fears are usually built on a house of cards. I believe that acting with authenticity allows me to connect with others, and I’m happiest when I don’t hold on so tight. I believe in the power of subtlety, even though I’m not very subtle. I believe it generally pays to be deliberate and that delivering more value than I’m paid for will never go out of style. I believe William James when he wrote, “My experience is what I agree to attend to.”
And I believe that the final recorded song by the Beatles has the perfect ending: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
Are Saying
“ As a CEO, Cast was relentless in one of the most important aspects of his job -- developing talent. He has an innate skill to uncover those things that we all need to break through on. That skill is paired with an ability to lay out just the right "bread crumbs" to tackle the opportunity. Most remarkable to me -- for all the tough conversations, I had unwavering trust that he was one of my biggest fans, rooting me along at every step of the way.
”
“ When Carter joined our VC operation as a Venture Partner, I was confident his vast operational and managerial experience would benefit our entrepreneurs. What I didn’t realize is the impact his leadership and counsel would have on our founders, our venture team, my partners and myself.”
“ I have known Carter for twenty years and have worked alongside him. He has keen insights and the ability to capitalize on them by putting teams (not just himself) in motion. He creates tremendous organizational movement – all the while maintaining a great sense of humor and projecting an infectious joie de vivre. It’s an amazing and rare talent.
”
“ With a combination of incredible precision and empathy, Carter has an uncanny ability to pinpoint the weaknesses of a management team, or of an individual contributor, and provide a digestible roadmap for improvement. Given our business is all about helping entrepreneurs achieve greatness, Carter is the most valuable, and least replaceable person, on our team at Pritzker Group.
”
“ As a CEO, Cast was relentless in one of the most important aspects of his job -- developing talent. He has an innate skill to uncover those things that we all need to break through on. That skill is paired with an ability to lay out just the right "bread crumbs" to tackle the opportunity. Most remarkable to me -- for all the tough conversations, I had unwavering trust that he was one of my biggest fans, rooting me along at every step of the way.
”
“ I have known Carter for twenty years and have worked alongside him. He has keen insights and the ability to capitalize on them by putting teams (not just himself) in motion. He creates tremendous organizational movement – all the while maintaining a great sense of humor and projecting an infectious joie de vivre. It’s an amazing and rare talent.
”
“ With a combination of incredible precision and empathy, Carter has an uncanny ability to pinpoint the weaknesses of a management team, or of an individual contributor, and provide a digestible roadmap for improvement. Given our business is all about helping entrepreneurs achieve greatness, Carter is the most valuable, and least replaceable person, on our team at Pritzker Group.
”
Carter’s Derailment Characteristics and how he overcame them.
Mischievous
Let’s throw a grenade in the meeting and see what happens
Easily bored
Likely to make decisions without consulting the boss
Leisurely
Tends to question the competence of senior management
Can be stubborn and resistant with people he doesn’t respect
Puts off tasks he doesn’t want to do
Mischievous
Learned to self-monitor and shut up, especially in charged situations.
Learned to resist the urge to automatically speak his mind. “If it doesn’t further the conversation, be quiet.”
Realized that a good part of his job was to help make his boss successful.
Leisurely
Learned to be less judgmental: Matthew 7:3 became one of his mantras: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Realized he had to be more flexible with his agenda and horse trade his priorities with others’ priorities
Prioritized his boss’s agenda above his own. Checked in more with his boss to make sure he was delivering on the boss’s priorities.
About Carter
Carter started as a marketing manager at PepsiCo, working for the company’s international food service division. Then he moved to the Frito Lay division, where he led the development of Tostitos Scoops as well as the development and launch of Tostitos salsas and dips. Upon leaving PepsiCo, Carter joined Electronic Arts, where he served as vice president of product marketing and marketing communications at Electronic Arts, launching products like The Sims. He left Electronic Arts to become the founding chief marketing officer of Blue Nile, which became the leading seller of diamonds and fine jewelry on the internet. Carter later went to Walmart, where he became the CEO of Walmart.com, leading the division to become the third highest volume retailer behind Amazon and eBay.
In 2011, Carter joined the faculty of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he is a clinical professor, teaching entrepreneurship, leadership and marketing and working on Kellogg’s leadership initiative. He is an award-winning professor, having received the Impact Award by his students each year from 2012-2017. He has been asked to give the end-of-year Nota Bene address multiple times to graduating students and was one of five professors nominated for Professor of the Year in 2015. In addition to teaching at Kellogg, Carter is a venture partner for Pritzker Group Venture Capital, where he assesses potential investments and advises portfolio companies. Carter sits on the board of SMS Assist, the Family Action Network, Kellogg Company, and is also a member of the advisory board of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Innovation Network.
Carter is also the author of a book, The Right (and Wrong) Stuff: How Brilliant Careers are Made – and Unmade, which will be released by PublicAffairs, a division of Hachette Book Group, on January 9, 2018.
