Prior to founding Carr Systems, Gary served in a number of leadership capacities in business as well as the nonprofit sector. His early career was spent in banking, where he learned the fundamentals of business operations, the primacy of cash flow over projections and asset valuations, and the tough lessons of "making things work" during economic recession. While working in the finance industry, Gary became involved in a number of Washington, D.C. area charities and local boards. It was during this time that he and his wife, Lynne, co-founded the Cerebral Palsy Ability Center, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children with movement disabilities. For his work in the local community, he was honored to carry the 1996 Olympic torch.
Gary left the finance industry to become the Regional Director for the United Way of the National Capital Area, Fairfax Region. "I was spending more and more personal time in this industry," explains Gary, "and I wanted to see if I could make more of difference by taking on more responsibility." Having witnessed the banking industry successfully automate numerous customer services in the 1980s, Gary took on the challenge of building automated systems to serve the nonprofits. In 2000, he led several technology initiatives at United Way, including the design and implementation of their first online giving software, a system used by more than 25 companies in its first giving season. During this time, he also worked closely with Fairfax County on a number of important community initiatives, including the founding of the Fairfax Partnership for Youth and the County's Long Term Care Task Force.
In 2001, Gary joined KindMark, a startup company building software to support the nonprofit industry. Gary was instrumental in design of the core SaaS application, as well as sales to leading Fortune-level clients such as EDS, GM, Charles Schwab, and Computer Sciences Corporation. Gary became president of KindMark in 2003, and led the company's sale to its largest competitor, publicly traded Kintera (which has since been acquired by Blackbaud). Gary joined Kintera as a Vice President where he worked for two years.
In 2006, Gary left Kintera and worked on a number of startup company and consulting projects, including SaaS platforms, social networking, and healthcare related projects. Long term clients such as GM and EDS also continued to engage Gary's services on IT and software projects. It was the experience of seeing so many businesses struggling to deliver successful, quality-driven work that led Gary to found Carr Systems.
Today, Carr Systems is a growing company focusing its efforts around a core group of clients. "We have been fortunate to grow during these tough economic times, but we still manage our growth," says Gary. "We are careful to take on business that fits our core competencies and our solution approach. It is important that we continue to deliver the highest quality work while we grow our business and our reputation."
Gary lives in Fairfax County, VA with his wife and four children.