Robert Barker, CEO

Director

Member, Business Development and Marketing Committee

Robert Barker Jr. is the President and CEO of Bob Barker Company, located in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the London School of Economics, and graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a dual concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management.

Robert grew up in the business founded by his father, Bob Barker, has worked in most areas of the company, and served in numerous leadership roles including Metal Fabrication Manager, IT Director, and Marketing Director. In March 2005, he was promoted to President of Bob Barker Company. Since that time, he has successfully led the organization through two major competitor acquisitions while more than doubling revenues and profits.

Around 2010 God put a burden on Robert’s spirit to understand more deeply the greatest problems facing the industry his business served and to play a leadership role in solving those problems. In studying the corrections industry, he learned that correctional populations in the U.S. exploded from 300,000 in the early 1980s to more than 2.3 million people incarcerated today, with hundreds of billions of dollars spent annually on our criminal justice system. Two out of three incarcerated individuals who leave a correctional facility today will find themselves back inside within three years, often much sooner. This issue of recidivism was one of the biggest drivers of this population and spending explosion. 

In 2010, with the help of his leadership team, Robert set out to recast the vision of the Bob Barker Company to articulate a greater purpose and a higher calling for the business. The company’s vision changed from “Bob Barker is the worldwide leader delivering innovative supplies and services to correctional and rehabilitation customers” to “Transforming criminal justice while honoring God in all we do.”

With the recasting of the vision, the company launched the Bob Barker Foundation, to which the company tithes out of its net income. With faithful giving and God’s blessing on the Foundation investments, assets have grown to almost $12 million today. The Foundation has granted over $6 million to nonprofit organizations working to help the incarcerated prepare physically, spiritually, and emotionally for successful reentry society and to stay out of prison for life. It is the only foundation in the United States, perhaps the world, that focuses exclusively on reducing recidivism.

Robert is an active member of the C12 Group, the largest network of Christian CEOs and owners building great businesses for a greater purpose. His participation in this peer advisory group has helped Robert discover and plan for areas that need improvement in his business and personal life, while being held accountable and encouraged to accomplish it in a God-honoring way.

He is married to Jennifer. They have three sons, Robert III, Raymond, and Freddie, and an adopted daughter, Aerin.