After almost 30 years of service to Georgia Tech, John Carter will step down from his role as the Georgia Tech Foundation president and chief operating officer (COO) on June 30, 2013.    

“I want to thank everyone for their unbelievable support and timely advice over the years,” Carter said. “I promise to continue my connection with Tech. Heck, after many years here as a student and employee, my blood has turned bright gold.” 

Carter, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Tech, was hired as director of marketing for the Alumni Association in 1983 and was named vice president and executive director two years later. 

During Carter’s time in that role, the Alumni Association was recognized as the best Alumni Association in the country in 1989 and 1990 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

“The Alumni Association Board of Trustees, the staff and many alumni volunteers set out on a mission to win this award,” Carter said. “I have never seen a group of people band together like these alumni and staff did.”

In 1999, he accepted a role at the Georgia Tech Foundation Inc. as vice president and COO, eventually moving into his current role as president and COO. (The Foundation’s primary role is to manage the Institute’s financial investments.) One of the projects Carter is most proud of from his tenure at the Foundation is the development of Tech Square. 

“The Foundation Trustees, together with the Georgia Tech administration, worked tirelessly to think out of the box, while minimizing the risks involved with such a project — and there were many,” he said. “Tech Square has been extremely successful, by any measure, and is proof that Tech alumni can take on difficult challenges and achieve outstanding results.”