Walt Carter: Leaders Helping Leaders Shift To A Higher Gear

by Jeff Bond

At the core of my work is helping global business, communications, and people leaders create meaningful engagement with their teams and customers. Together with my wonderful colleagues at Chat With Leaders Media and People First Elevation Team, we deliver all-hands meeting support, content, podcasts, creative, cross-cultural training, speaker coaching, and strategic advisory solutions. We are committed to unlocking the power of inclusive storytelling, shared experiences, leadership development, and mixed media to help our clients authentically connect with their most important stakeholders.

Our core values—Partnership, Inclusion, and Empowerment—guide everything we do. By fostering strong partnerships, embracing diverse perspectives, and equipping leaders with the tools to succeed, we aim to transform the way people engage while achieving meaningful work.

Outside of work, I cherish time with my wife and three children, balancing my roles as a husband and father with my professional life in Atlanta, GA. Let's connect and explore how we can create impactful media solutions for your business.

With more than twenty-five years in technology leadership roles, Walt Carter specializes in alignment to purpose and technology innovation. Prior to joining HOMESTAR Financial Corporation as Chief Digital Officer and CIO in March of 2018, Walt and his teams implemented technology changes for Primary Capital Mortgage to drive 205% growth in origination volume in just over two years. Before joining Primary Capital Mortgage, his team at Generation Mortgage received accolades from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, Bloomberg, and MarketWatch for innovative use of technology as a key differentiator for the company.

Walt is adept at working through complex business challenges and has successfully implemented several enterprise-wide packaged software solutions. Walt is a frequent speaker to professional groups on the topics of leadership, governance, risk management, and compliance.

After earning a BS in Physics from Guilford College, he began his career as a technical officer in the US Air Force, and over the years he has served in a variety of technology leadership roles with companies such as Fidelity, Gannett, BDM, TRW, and Ajilon Consulting. Walt earned a master’s degree in Public and Private Administration from Central Michigan University in 1991. While at TRW, he won the President’s Award for his leadership on their largest commercial project. Walt was named Corporate CIO of the Year in 2014 by the Georgia CIO Leadership Association and more recently has been named as a member of the Business Transformation 150 for 2020 by Constellation Research.

Chat Highlights

Why is there a false narrative that executive leaders have it all figured out and why is that far from the truth?
Explain what Higher Gear CIO does for the Atlanta CIO community and why it was created as a safe haven to openly discuss challenges leaders in this position face.
How has Higher Gear CIO been instrumental to your growth as a leader and fulfilling as an actively participating member?
Why is forming a community vs competition important for executive leaders in the same geographic market?
What does storing up your treasures in heaven mean to you and how does it inform how you leverage your influence as a leader?

Get In Touch

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Our Community Partners

B Local GA: A collection of for-profit companies each dedicated to creating a future where businesses operate as a positive influence on society.
InspirEDU: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks to support education equity with its commitment to youth and their families, through training, device distribution, and technology career development.
AppBarry: An Atlanta-based software engineering team specializing in building custom web and mobile applications, cloud migrations, and software integrations.
Classic City Consulting: An Atlanta-based WordPress design + development, content writing, and SEO consulting firm.
Stratfield Consulting: Helping organizations successfully adapt to a rapidly changing landscape with an approach that integrates proven consulting, staffing, and recruiting services.