Shelby H. Carter is not afraid or ashamed of failure. In fact, he insists on talking about his failures because he believes they are essential for success. He has founded several companies that have failed, but he has also owned many successful ones.

Carter's father was killed when his ship was torpedoed by the Germans in the Second World War. Shelby was 11 and his sister, Alice, was 9, and his mother worked hard to sustain them. A turning point came in Shelby Carter's life when he took an academic exam in the eighth grade and earned a scholarship to McDonogh School, a military academy near Baltimore. Carter says it became his surrogate father, teaching him values like honor, hard work, and the importance of education. To provide that opportunity to other students, he established a scholarship at the school. The dedication plaque reads, "To McDonogh - it kept me out of jail."

While attending McDonogh, he met and began dating a young woman named Pat Bunn. They recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Carter calls his wife the "rudder of my life" and the best gift he ever gave his children.

Because of Shelby Carter's father's Texas roots, in 1949 the young man enrolled at UT Austin, site unseen. He began in engineering but switched to business while working at various jobs and socializing with his Sigma Nu fraternity brothers. He joined the NROTC and qualified for Marine Platoon Leaders Class, training in San Diego and Quantico during the summers.

Carter attended law school for one year, but in 1953 he left for active duty as a second lieutenant in the Marines. The next year he was selected as aid-de-camp to General Edward W. Snedeker, commanding general of the Second Marine Division. For Carter, General Snedeker has remained a constant example of integrity, leadership, intelligence, and honor.

With a growing family, Shelby left the Marines to join the business world. He was unsure of what he wanted to do and applied for several jobs. He had two prospects: selling beer for National Bohemian or selling electric typewriters for IBM. Several months passed after the IBM interview and no word came from it, so Carter decided to accept a position with National Bohemian. He was walking out the door to take the job when the phone rang. IBM was calling with an offer. Carter had named General Snedeker as a reference and IBM had spent those months tracking the general down.

Carter served 14 years with IBM and praises its high ethical standards. He left in 1969 to start a company that eventually folded. It was his first real lesson in risk and he would never forget it. He searched for another business opportunity and joined Xerox in 1970, moving his family to Rochester, New York.

At Xerox, Carter assumed responsibilities in marketing and operations, subsequently being named president of U.S. operations. He also served as a corporate vice president and as a member of Xerox's corporate management committee. He left the company after 15 years at the age of 54, ready to begin another chapter of his life.

Carter co-founded SynOptics, which became a Fortune 500 company, and then directed his energy and expertise to guiding a rapidly growing new software company, VitalSigns. Along the way he had unsuccessful ventures and he keeps the business cards from those companies as a reminder. He says, "It's extremely important to have the courage to risk and the courage to fail." But he does not advocate careless risks. He thoroughly researches any business proposals before committing himself.

For Carter, the excitement of starting companies is completely different from working at large corporations. He says, "With small companies, if you don't show up, something stops, they miss you."

Since moving to Austin in 1985, teaching at The University of Texas has been Carter's most rewarding experience. As a distinguished adjunct professor in the UT College of Business Administration, Carter says, "I don't know what else is more important than working with the future." He says he constantly strives to "set the mark higher and make sure that all the information I impart is crucial."

Carter has won numerous teaching awards, including Outstanding Professor in the Graduate School of Business and the Texas Exes (Ex-Students' Association) Texas Excellence Teaching Award. In May 1998 he was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame, the highest honor the school bestows. The same year he received UT's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Outside of work, Carter loves spending time with his large family of six married children and 15 grandchildren, most of whom live in Texas, and he revels in their many successes. He is extremely proud of his sister, Alice Steinbach, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Baltimore Sun. (He was the person who sold the Sun their first computer to do right-hand justification when he worked for IBM.)

Retirement is abhorrent to Carter. He says his future plans are to "continue teaching, hack around in my khakis, see one of my grandchildren graduate from college, and found one more company."

By Cora Oltersdorf,
from Texas Alcalde magazine (November/December 1998)

Links:

UT Austin:

• McCombs School of Business

• Texas Exes (Ex-Students' Association)

• The Alcalde magazine