Leader of North Central
Carr entered the aviation industry in 1943 as a fresh 22 year-old, and as Assistant Director of Route Development at Trans World Airlines, was instrumental in establishing that carrier’s international system. He also served as Assistant to the Chairman at TWA.
His association with North Central Airlines dated back to pre-operational days, joining the airline (then Wisconsin Central) as Vice President-Traffic in 1947, becoming Executive Vice President the next year.
From 1952 to 1954, Carr was a member of the McKinsey & Company management consulting firm, out of New York.
He returned to North Central Board of Directors in 1952 by request of other board members in order to bring creative solutions to the firm’s failing fortunes, and in 1954 he was named President (at that point the youngest such leader in the industry, at age 33), having restored profitability and employee morale. He was also elected Chairman of the Board in 1965 and retained that position as North Central and Southern merged in 1979, remaining the head of Republic until 1985.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Carr did graduate study in industrial management and finance at American University, Washington DC, and served as a professorial lecturer of Management Engineering from 1952-1962.
Carr also served as a Director for several other companies, including Stange Co.; Westland Capital Corporation; Ross Industries, Inc.; Detection Sciences, Inc.; and Governors Sound, Ltd. In nonprofit / government service, he was a Director of the Minnesota Safety Council, a Councilor of the Texas A&M Research Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Texas Transportation Institute of Texas A&M University System.
