Karen S. Carter
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief Inclusion Officer
Dow
“I just try to make the biggest difference possible with the time that I have on the planet.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationKaren S. Carter
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I grew up in Wichita, Kansas.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University—it was important to me to attend an HBCU so that I could be around successful people who looked like me.
After undergrad, I earned a master’s degree in international business from DePaul University.
I built my career with The Dow Chemical Company and have been with the company for 28 years.
Most of my experience with Dow has been on the business side, managing profit and loss.
In 2017, our CEO asked me to become the company’s first chief inclusion officer to make sure we had a strategy focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
I did that for about 18 months before expanding my responsibilities to chief human resources officer.
I’ve been fortunate to travel around the world with Dow and am excited to ultimately return home to Wichita in the future.
Keep following my journey
Education
Career
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief Inclusion Officer
I make sure all of the company's team members feel included, valued, respected, and appreciated.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Travel
Working with Others
Day to Day
My days are filled with engaging with people, either in meetings or organically. I have a list of people every week that I reach out and call to check in on. These calls don't have an agenda—I'm just checking in and letting them know that I'm thinking about them. In the evenings, I spend time catching up on emails.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Build your own personal board of directors. A support network is so valuable and important for your success and happiness in your career and your life.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Success looks one way."
Challenges I Overcame
Relocation
