Kevin Carr is the CEO of the Florida Makes. Kevin has dedicated most of his career to enhancing the nation’s manufacturing sector, with a focus on improving the competitiveness and profitability of small and medium-size manufacturers. Kevin comes to FloridaMakes having led the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP).

 Joining NIST in the first year of this experimental program, Kevin became the first NIST MEP Director, building the program from just 7 pilot states to a nationally integrated system serving manufacturers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

He has been recognized as one of Florida Trend’s most influential Floridians and as a finalist for the Service to America for Business and Commerce and Harvard’s Innovations in American Government Award. He was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal for building Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s national system.

FloridaMakes is a statewide, industry-led public-private partnership with the sole mission of strengthening and advancing Florida’s economy by improving the productivity and technological performance of its manufacturing sector, with an emphasis on small- and medium-sized firms. It accomplishes this by providing services focused on three principle value streams: technology adoption, talent development, and business growth.