Bob Barker

Founder of Bob Barker Company and Chairman of the Board of Directors

Robert J. (Bob) Barker grew up in Cherryville, North Carolina. He graduated with a BS in History from Campbell University in 1965. While he was developing his entrepreneurial interests, Bob held public offices as Mayor of Apex, North Carolina (1967-1969); Executive Director of the Wake County - North Carolina Committee on Law and Justice (1970-1971); and North Carolina State Senator (1973-1974). He later served as Mayor of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (1995-1999) and Fuquay-Varina Town Commissioner (2000-2004). 

Bob held several different jobs as a young man but found success in entrepreneurship when he found his passion. That was when he connected through a close friend with the opportunity to serve jails. In 1972, he founded Bob Barker Equipment Company to provide products to detention facilities. Under Bob’s leadership, the business was incorporated in 1987 as Bob Barker Company and expanded nationwide, manufacturing and distributing a wide array of institutional and detention products from its manufacturing and distribution centers in Fuquay-Varina and Ogden, Utah.

With a passion for making a positive impact on the lives of people and working for the greater good, Bob infused that sentiment into the fabric of the company he founded, starting with how Team Members are appreciated and extending to families, communities, vendors, customers and ultimately the population of detention and corrections residents served. The products supplied by the Company help make life better for residents while they are incarcerated. Inspired to do more, Bob founded the Bob Barker Foundation in 2009 to confront the problem of recidivism and help provide solutions through therapeutic interventions that help individuals reenter society, stay out of prison for life, and become positive contributors to their families and the communities in which they live.

Bob’s desire to give to others for the greater good of the community drives him to invest in his church, his alma mater, his community as a public servant, and to the world as a business owner. In recognition of Bob’s generosity, he has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from Campbell University (2012) and The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award by the State of North Carolina (2018), which is the highest honor for significant contributions to the state and community through exemplary service. He has also been honored with citizenship awards from Campbell University and the towns of his birth and residency.

Bob resides in Fuquay-Varina with his wife, Pat. His two children, Robert and Nancy, run the daily operations of Bob Barker Company. Bob and Pat are active in Woodhaven Baptist Church where they serve as founding members.

Bob believes that everything that has happened in his life has prepared him for the next thing and the ultimate opportunity to thrive in something in which he holds passion and strong conviction. That providence led him to his life mission to transform criminal justice while honoring God in all he does, which is the vision for Bob Barker Company. His faith compels him to share John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”