Born in Scotland, Carter was educated at Currie High School, Edinburgh. From 1982-1987 he studied a law degree at the University of Aberdeen, where he graduated with Bachelor of Laws Honours and was the student president in 1985-1986. He completed the Harvard Business School"s Advanced Management Program in 1997.
He is currently the Group Chief Executive of Informa, an information and conference company. He was Doctor of Medicine & Chief Executive Officer J. Walter Thompson in United Kingdom & Ireland. From 2000 - 2003, Carter served as the Doctor of Medicine & chief operating officer of United Kingdom cable television company NTL. The Group was required, given market conditions, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which required a complete restructuring of the United Kingdom & Ireland business, and the subsequent takeover of the business by a group of previous bondholders.
He presided over the bankruptcy protection proceedings of NTL, which at the time had debts of £12bn.
Carter left NTL at the end of 2002 as the Group was poised to exit Chapter 11, with a payoff of £1.7m in compensation, including a £600,000 bonus. The company resolved a class action lawsuit brought by shareholders by paying out $9 Million in compensation in late 2007.,
From 2003 - 2007, Carter served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Ofcom After a brief period back in the private sector with the private advisory firm Brunswick, he returned to public life as Chief of Strategy for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and then as Minister for Communications, Technology & Broadcasting, where he commissioned and wrote The Digital Britain Report, and the follow on Digital Economy Acting 2010.
As a result, he was created Baron Carter of Barnes, of Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and was introduced in the Lords on 16 October 2008 by Lord Currie and Lord Puttnam. He served in the House of Lords on the front bench in his capacity as Minister.
Additionally he has served on the Board of a number of companies, including Travis Perkins Public Limited Company, Royal Mail Public Limited Company, 2Wire Incorporated, and is Chairman of the Ashridge Business School.
In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Laws Doctor of Laws by his alma mater, Aberdeen. In April 2010 Carter became Chief Marketing, Strategy & Communication Officer for Alcatel-Lucent. Lord Carter announced on 11 June 2009 that he would be resigning from his ministerial post following the publication of his Digital Britain report.
Because Carter was not a Member of Parliament, it was necessary to appoint him to the House of Lords.
