In Memoriam: Carter Bales, one of the founders of the Prize
Carter Franklin Bales, along with his prominence in the financial sector, was an ardent supporter of environmental rights and issues. Carter worked with Fred Hayes early in his career, when Mr. Bales served as Assistant Budget Director (Acting) for The City of New York under Mayor John Lindsay, where he led the development of New York City’s air pollution, solid waste management, and water supply programs, in addition to developing the City’s Program Planning and Budgeting (PPBS) system along with several senior executives in the City’s Budget Bureau.
Carter was a Managing Partner Emeritus at the company he co-founded in 2009, NewWorld Capital Group LLC. While at NewWorld, he served on the firm’s Executive Committee, as well as the Investment Committee. In addition, he directed the firm’s research activities, and chaired the firm’s Strategic Advisory Council.
Before he co-founded NewWorld, Carter was Managing Partner Emeritus at The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC., a private equity firm focused on the information industries in the United States. He co-founded Wicks in 1989 and was a Managing Partner until assuming the Emeritus title in August 2006. While at Wicks, he served on the Investment Committee and the Boards of Directors of most Wicks portfolio companies. He also played an active role in developing strategies for Wicks investments and The Wicks Group overall.
Carter was a Director of McKinsey & Company from 1978 to 1998, where he held senior leadership positions, including founding the consultancy’s practices in environmental management, information industries, and state and local government, and leading the information technology practice. He was a member of McKinsey’s Board of Directors for seven years and, most notably, led a project to redefine the firm’s strategy. He left McKinsey in 1998, but continued his involvement with the company as Emeritus Director and Senior Advisor on environmental matters.
Carter was a recognized expert in the environmental field, having been active in environmental matters for more than 35 years, publishing a number of important articles in the field, as well as being a frequently an invited speaker on the topic. In his later years, Carter focused on environmental economics and how energy efficiency improvements can be achieved in cost-effective ways. In 2007, he worked with McKinsey to prepare the report entitled, “Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?” In 2008 and 2009, he worked with Project Catalyst and other initiatives in framing the economics of environmental improvement strategies in the United States and elsewhere. In 2008, his article, “Containing Climate Change” (co-authored with Rick Duke), appeared in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs Magazine.
Carter served on the boards of a number of leading environmental organizations, including The Center for Market Innovation at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Advisory Council to Resources for the Future, and as a member of the Advisory Board of the ClearPath Foundation. He also served in various roles at The Nature Conservancy, including Chairman of the International Committee of the Board of Governors and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy of New York. Under Carter’s leadership as Chariman, The North Shore Land Alliance (NSLA), together with the local community, was instrumental in protecting 1,200 acres of environmentally significant land on Long Island's beautiful North Shore. He was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Carter graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Economics and held an MBA from Harvard Business School. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Skidmore College for his environmental leadership. He started his career at IBM, where he worked as a systems engineer, and as a Systems Design Chief for the First U.S. Army at Governors Island.