Carter Cast
Carter Cast

GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Clinical Assistant Professor of Management

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Carter Cast received his early training in the restaurant division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Pizza Hut International and Taco Bell) from 1986-1990 and then at Frito-Lay from 1992-1997, where he became Director of Marketing, managing the $1.5 billion tortilla chip category and launching Tostitos salsas and dips.

Carter then served as vice president of product marketing and marketing communications at Electronic Arts, launching products like SimCity 3000 and The Sims. He left to become a member of the start-up team for Blue Nile Inc., a Kleiner-Perkins and Trinity Ventures backed company, which became the leading online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, selling in excess of $250 million after seven years in existence. Carter was Blue Nile's senior vice president of marketing, merchandizing and site when the company was named one of the forty best e-commerce sites by Forbes magazine. He developed the brand and site identity, as well as the marketing communication and product assortment strategy.

Carter left Blue Nile to be part of the launch team at Walmart.com, a division of Walmart Stores, Inc. He served as the vice president of marketing from 2000-2002 and the senior vice president of marketing, merchandizing, creative and site from 2002-2005. In 2005 Carter was promoted to President of Walmart.com and to CEO in February of 2006. He led Walmart's e-commerce division to profitability on its way to becoming the third highest volume e-tail site behind eBay and Amazon.com.

After Walmart, Carter joined Netshops.com, a privately-held ecommerce company funded by Sequoia Capital and Insight Venture Partners, as President and CEO. In 2009, Netshops rebranded and redesigned its site, becoming Hayneedle. Internet Retailer named it as one of America's Hot 100 Retail sites in December of 2009.

In 2011, Carter joined the faculty of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he is a professor teaching entrepreneurship and marketing. In addition to teaching at Kellogg, Carter joined New World Ventures in 2012, where he is a venture partner. Carter graduated from Stanford University in 1985 and the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1992.
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Other Professional Experience
President and Chief Executive Officer, WAL-MART STORES, INC., 2005-2007
Senior Vice President, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, WAL-MART STORES, INC., 2000-2005
Senior Vice President, BLUE NILE, INC., 2000-2000
Vice President, BLUE NILE, INC., 2000-1999

 
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Full-Time / Part-Time MBA
Entrepreneurship & New Venture Formation (ENTR-462-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Management & Strategy

This new version of 462 will focus on the initial stages of idea generation, team formation and testing key assumptions of a business idea. Through this ‘launchpad’ course students will determine if their ideas are unique, relevant, profitable, and sustainable. At the end of the course, If students have a credible business concept they will be encouraged to enroll in the NUvention courses or Kellogg mentorship programs in subsequent quarters. Students enrolling in 462 do not need a team or a fully developed business idea. Grading will be on an individual basis. Content of the course will focus on the ‘discovery’ process, often referred to as Stage Zero in the innovation process. This is perhaps the most important moment in the life of a business. Get the idea right and your primary challenge will be how to scale your business. Get the idea wrong and scaling your business will be the least of your worries. This course is designed to help you identify opportunities and then improve the quality of your ideas. You will learn how to identify problems worth solving, test your assumptions about possible solutions, adjust your initial hypothesis based on market feedback, and ultimately accelerate the time between inspiration, execution, operations, and growth.