Carl Ware

Corporate executive Carl Ware was born on September 30, 1943 in Newman, Georgia to Lois and Ulas Ware. He earned his B.A. degree in political science from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1965. He went on to receive his M.A. degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1968.

In 1973, Ware was elected to the Atlanta City Council, where he served as the council’s first African American president from 1976 to 1979. He was then hired, in 1974, by The Coca-Cola Company as its urban and governmental affairs specialist. In 1979, he was promoted to the vice president of special markets; and in 1982, he became the vice president of urban affairs, managing the company’s domestic and international affairs and philanthropic programs. During this time, he founded the Coca-Cola Foundation, the company’s philanthropic organization, prior to being promoted to senior vice president in 1986. In 1991, Ware’s role grew internationally as the deputy group president of Coca-Cola’s Northeast Europe and Africa group. In 1993, he would be promoted again as the president of the Coca-Cola Africa Group, making him the company’s first African American group president. During this time, Ware worked closely with South African President Nelson Mandela. Ware went on to serve as the executive vice president of global public affairs and administration from 2001 until he retired from Coca-Cola in 2003. In 2019, Ware published his book, Portrait of an American Businessman: One Generation from Cotton Field to Boardroom with the Mercer University Press.

Ware served on the board of directors of United Way and was the chairman of United Way’s capital campaign, which raised $75 million in 1991. In 2002, he became the chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Ware is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and served on the board of directors for The Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc., Cummins Inc., the Chevron Corporation, Georgia Power, and National Life of Vermont. He also served on the boards of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In 2007, the Carl and Mary Ware Academic Center was dedicated to Ware and his wife at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. Ware was also awarded the International Achievement Award from the University of Pittsburgh Center for International Studies in 2024.

Ware and his wife, Mary Ware, reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Carl Ware was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 16, 2025 and April 15, 2025.