Career commitment: Carr has been named to the Spears Business Hall of Fame – Oklahoma State University

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Contact Media: Hallie Hart | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | hallie.hart@okstate.edu

Editor’s Note: The Spears School of Business is releasing a series of feature stories to celebrate the 2024 Spears Business Hall of Fame inductees and Outstanding Young Alumni. Check back every week for a new status before the Oct. party. 4.

Vickie Carr’s face lights up when she starts talking about world travel.

The Oklahoma State University accounting alumna enthusiastically shares business travel stories from the past four decades, sprinkling in helpful information only a seasoned traveler would know.

Growing up, Carr and his family never flew, but his professional life allowed him to see the beauty of the world’s landscapes. His first international flight was on a double decker plane to Malaysia, he spent a long time in Belgium and one of his favorite memories is eating at home of the Turkish Empire near the suspension bridge where Asia meets Europe.

He continued these activities without leaving Deloitte, a Big 4 accounting firm with offices around the world. In the midst of technological innovations and revolutions, Carr has built a nearly 40-year career with one organization, and that’s not to say that he’s used to doing things out of the ordinary.

“Deloitte has done such a good job of allowing its professionals to raise their hands and do something different,” Carr said. “Every four or five years, I was looking for a new challenge or to do something different. I put my hand up, and almost every time they agreed to let me do something new, so I was always strong.”

Since his tenure as OSU’s principal in 1985, Carr has never changed firms. His extraordinary commitment to the growth of a single firm has opened the door to world travel, leadership endeavors, and this year, induction into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame.

Carr, leader of the Global Tax Accounting Group at Deloitte, has achieved and exceeded the goal she told her husband, Jeff, at the beginning of their relationship.

The couple met as OSU students when Jeff lived at the Gray Fox, a community center on Elm Avenue in the brick building that today houses The Garage Burgers and Beer. Carr wanted him to understand his ambition to become a partner in a big 8 accounting firm.

After 38 years of marriage and counting, it’s safe to say Jeff got it. Carr says his support is one of the key factors in his success.

OSU was also a big contributor.

Although his six sisters did not go to college, times had changed when Carr, who was a full generation older than his brothers, reached high school.

Carr expected to go to college even if it meant working to pay off debt when his father retired. He credits his younger sister and the accounting class at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City for sparking his interest in his latest major.

“When I announced my major in accounting, I’m not sure I fully understood the possibilities that degree would provide,” Carr said. But I knew I liked numbers, and I liked accounting.

In 1985, Carr landed a job with Touche Ross, then one of the prestigious Big 8 firms. At the same time, he immersed himself in professional life in Tulsa and completed his undergraduate degree in Stillwater so that he could move forward to achieve his goal. He started full-time right after graduation, passed his CPA exam and, with the support of Touche Ross, took night classes at the University of Tulsa until he earned a master’s degree. tax.

In 1989, Touche Ross and another Big 8 firm, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, merged to form Deloitte & Touche, eventually using the Deloitte name. Carr never had to change firms, but his job gave him a ride. In 1996, she and Jeff – and their two children, Jenna and Mitchell – headed to Memphis, Tennessee, for Carr’s chance to become a partner. He was admitted to the conference in 1999.

Although he achieved his goal, the next step in his career presented new challenges. While in Memphis, Carr often found herself the only woman in meetings, and the client said she had never had a female business advisor. Carr said luckily, he was able to earn their respect and stay focused.

Over the years, she learned to rely on mentors and colleagues for her confidence.

“You have to find your voice,” Carr said. “Sometimes, I was waiting for someone else to give me permission, instead of saying, ‘This is what’s best for me.'”

Carr said she benefited from Deloitte’s gender-focused programs and a project called “Small Things, Big Differences” that helped its professionals talk and keep time commitments. personality.

He knew he had to balance his career with his family. Another counselor, Katy Hollister, advised Carr to treat family like “they are your most important customers” and not let work consume everything.

As he continued to advance at Deloitte and learn to speak, Carr remained true to his team values.

Carr began speaking at conferences and leading consulting groups. In 2018, he founded Deloitte’s National Tax Accounting Group, which grew from 10 members to nearly 50 within seven years. Over the past four years, he has been instrumental in creating the Global Tax Accounting Group, which now includes partner-led tax accounting groups in more than 25 countries.

“That’s a perfect example of what I love about Deloitte,” Carr said. “It allows our partners to become entrepreneurs if they have an idea to provide a service that they believe will be well received in the market.”

On a personal level, Carr and her family adapted from Tulsa to Memphis to Dallas, where she and Jeff live today. He said he is proud of his children and what they have achieved. Carr also credited Jeff for giving up his job as a special education teacher to support his work with children as they grew up, and knows how committed he was to staying at home. what does it mean to the whole family.

Jeff and Vickie taught Jenna and Mitchell about Orange Power and shared their love for the OSU Cowboys. The siblings graduated from OSU and both work for Deloitte – Jenna as a business consultant for meeting and event services and Mitchell as a tax manager.

As Deloitte tells Carr, he knew as he approached 40, he was ready to retire. Carr will retire in September, intending to spend more time with family, including Palmer’s grandson.

Travel is still on the agenda, but the top destinations on the list are not as far away as Malaysia or Belgium. The Carrs have a second home in Colorado, and love to return to Stillwater.

“There are so many traditions and memories of OSU that you don’t even think about when you go to school,” Carr said. “Our pride in these traditions has grown stronger over the years, and today they are a big part of our lives.”

With the Jeff and Vickie Carr Endowed Scholarship in Accounting, she continues to make a difference at her alma mater, and Spears expressed pride in her accomplishments. Carr received nominations for the OSU School of Management’s Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame and the “Spears School Tributes: 100 For 100” commemoration of the school’s 100th anniversary in 2014.

The next award follows coincidentally after retirement. Carr will be honored in the 2024 Spears School of Business Hall of Fame class on Oct. 4 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.

“I’m humbled, surprised and proud,” Carr said. “My education and my experiences in Oklahoma State laid the foundation for who I am and what I have been able to achieve. I will always be grateful to OSU. ”