Carter Matthews has never followed a conventional career path. His working life has taken him through finance, information technology, business management, operations, entrepreneurship and web development, with each stage adding another set of skills and another perspective on how organisations and people actually work.
He began his working life in roles that included banking, retail, sales and technology, before moving into finance and accounting. His interest in technology soon became intertwined with his financial career, leading to roles where he worked with business systems, software, databases and information management. Over time, that combination of finance and technology developed into broader management and operational responsibilities. He has worked as a finance manager, IT manager, business change manager, systems administrator and business analyst, as well as running his own business for many years.
Running a business provided a completely different education. It meant dealing with far more than the title of any particular job suggested: financial management, compliance, staff, contractors, customers, suppliers, marketing, technology, systems, risk and the countless practical problems that appear when there is nobody else to solve them. Rather than specialising in one area, Carter found himself continually learning whatever the business required next.
His career also took him overseas. Working in the United Kingdom exposed him to different organisations, systems and working environments, while travelling through Europe by camper van provided an entirely different lesson in independence and adaptability. Returning to New Zealand meant starting again, eventually building another business and continuing to develop his interests in technology, software and web development.
Alongside his practical experience, Carter has continued to study and develop professionally, gaining qualifications in accounting and finance as well as further qualifications and certifications relating to technology, management, operations, project management and health and safety. More recently, his interests have expanded into writing, allowing him to explore many of the questions about technology, business and society that have interested him throughout his working life.
His books reflect that wide-ranging curiosity. World Wide Web of Lies: The Unbalanced Equation examines the increasingly complicated systems that businesses and individuals encounter online. How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Trust, Cheating, and Learning explores the growing influence of AI on education and the questions it raises about trust and assessment. The Answer That Never Knows continues his examination of technology and the assumptions we make about the systems that provide us with information.
See the Books