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.