Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Inductee - Philip K. Carter
2006 Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Recipient
Philip K. Carter
Philip K. Carter, a 1966 Festus High School graduate, embodies innovation, leadership, and commitment. Before Festus schools integrated, he attended Douglass Elementary School through the sixth grade. While he attended Festus High School, he distinguished himself as an athlete and a scholar by lettering in football and being a member of the National Honor Society. By the time that he graduated, he also had been named a Rotary Club “Student of the Month.” He regards the education that he received in his hometown to have been instrumental to both his academic and professional endeavors.
He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, graduated in 1971 with his degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and led the way for future African Americans to follow in his footsteps by being the first African American mechanical engineering graduate and by co-founding the Black Engineer Student Group. Looking back on his role as a trailblazer, Carter credits his parents as his main support as he envisioned his potential. He feels that they taught him to see possibilities, not limits, and to work extremely hard to attain his dreams.
Upon graduation, Carter became an engineer for Procter & Gamble. He designed the packaging for Liquid Tide in 1981. As Associate Director of Product Development for Powder Laundry Detergents, he supervised the brand Tide.
His job assignments over the years broadened to include international responsibilities. In 1974, he traveled on special assignment to Casablanca, Morocco, later in 1991, his responsibility as Director of Product Development for North American Dishwashing Products included the supervision of Joy, Dawn, Ivory, and Cascade dishwashing products in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. In 1995, he made his expertise global by moving to Brussels and by working in the Dishwashing Products Division that markets to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. During his tenure at this post, he introduced Joy dishwashing liquids to Japan and antibacterial dishwashing liquids to Europe.
With his eyes set toward home, he returned to the U.S. in 1999 when he relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio to the Personal Healthcare Division. His duties included the transition of Prilosec heartburn medication from being available only with a prescription to being available over the counter.
In addition to attending to his product development responsibilities, Carter advocates and facilitates success for other minority students and employees in his field. Throughout his career, he worked to train and to promote minorities in the product development areas of the corporation. Carter was honored as a YMCA Black Achiever in Cincinnati and serves as a member of the University of Missouri Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board. After his retirement, Procter & Gamble established the Philip Carter Lifetime Achievement Award to be given each year to those in product development who dedicate their careers to helping others as Carter has done.
Carter did not journey to success alone. He shared it with his wife RoAnn and their three children; Ian, Paul and Leigh Alexandra. Now, in his retirement, he is still busy with consulting and serving on advisory boards. He still finds time for his interests in photography, traveling, and golf. Looking back, Carter remains humble, explaining that his career seems unremarkable to him. However, back in his hometown, Festus is proud of Philip Carter as a man who works and lives as a model of integrity, leading the way so that others can succeed after him.