Robert O. Carr
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Heartland Payment Systems
Responsibilities: Strategic direction and growth of Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation’s largest payments processing companies and creator of The Merchant Bill of Rights.
Professional Background: Bob started his career at Parkland College in Champaign, IL, at the age of 21. After serving as a professor, president of the college’s faculty and director of its computer center, he moved to the Bank of Illinois and then started a software and consulting business for small and mid-sized businesses.
In 1997, Bob co-founded Heartland Payment Systems with Heartland Bank. Under his guidance, Heartland has been named a FORTUNE 1000 company, climbed from #61 to #5 in the nation and #9 in the world; from 25 to 2,900 employees; from 2,500 to 250,000 client locations and from a portfolio of $0.4 billion in bankcard volume to more than $80 billion.
On August 11, 2005, Bob rang the bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the most oversubscribed initial public offering in the payments industry.
Bob has been a driving force in an industry collaboration movement to thwart cybercriminals ― and help protect business owners, consumers, processors and financial institutions. He was active in the formation of the Payments Processor Information Sharing Council (PPISC) and served as chair of its steering committee. Bob also serves as Associate Member Director on the board of the Secure POS Vendor Alliance.
Awards and Recognition:
- The MidWest Acquirers Association’s first “Lifetime Achievement Award”
- Ernst and Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” (in 2004 and 2007)
- Greater Philadelphia Venture Group’s “Walter M. Aikman Entrepreneur of the Year Award”
- American Business Awards’ “Best Executive”
- The Eastern Technology Alliance’s “Technology CEO of the Year”
- Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL
Community Involvement:
- Board of Trustees, Historical Society of Princeton, Princeton, NJ
- Board of Advisors, Seton Hall Business School, South Orange, NJ
- Trustee, Historic Morven, Princeton, NJ
- Advisory Board, Woodrow Wilson House, Washington DC
- Founder, Give Something Back Foundation, a nonprofit which funds academic scholarships for disadvantaged children, recognizes teaching excellence and donates to various charitable organizations
Educational Background:
- Master of Science, Computer Science , University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL
- Bachelor of Science, Mathematics, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL
Personal: Bob and his wife, Jill, have six children, three grandchildren and reside in Princeton, NJ.
