Carpenter, Candice 1952-

PERSONAL: Born April 29, 1952, in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; married (divorced); married Peter Olson (a publishing executive), 2000; children: Michaela, Ellie. Education: Stanford University, B.S. (human biology), 1975; Harvard University, M.B.A., 1983.

ADDRESSES: Office—212 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Executive and author. Formerly worked as an Outward Bound wilderness and rock-climbing instructor; American Express, vice president of consumer marketing, 1983-89; Time-Life Video and Television, New York, NY, president, 1989-93; QVC, Inc. (Q2 Shopping Channel), president, 1993-94; America Online, consultant, 1995; iVillage, cofounder and CEO, 1995-2000. Director, Breakthrough Foundation.

AWARDS, HONORS: Matrix Award, New York Women in Communications, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Known more from the pages of business section as a high-flying New York media executive than as an author, Candice Carpenter turned some down-time between CEO jobs into a niche as a self-help writer. In Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change, she claims that the traditional workplace environment, in which people aim to remain at the same company throughout their careers, has been wiped out by a revolution in American working life in which various jobs and varied careers before retirement are the norm. Carpenter terms these changes "chapters" because they have distinct beginnings and ends.

A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found Carpenter's book interesting, but not exactly a manual for everyone, noting that the author's "background is from a world in which a driver is a necessity, the doorman at Versace knows her by name and the next job comes with a corner office and the title of CEO." The reviewer continued, however, that Carpenter "offers genuine help by giving people the words to understand and describe what they are going through as they close and open chapters of their lives." Writing in Library Journal, Lisa Liquori also found parts of Chapters worthwhile, but cautioned that "the content and tone of this book suggest that it will appeal mostly to professionals who have had some level of work success." Still, she concluded, "Chapters is a worthwhile choice for its reminder that gaining access to self requires the equally difficult task of drawing the courage to respect and act on what comes from this exploration."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Brandweek, April 17, 2000, Christine Sparta, "It Takes a Village," p. 70.

Crain's New York Business, November 29, 1999, "Millionaires of Silicon Alley: Candice Carpenter," p. 52.

Forbes, October 29, 2001, Joanne Gordon, review of Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change, p. 54.

Industry Standard, August 7, 2000, p. 55.

Library Journal, February 15, 2002, Lisa Liquori, review of Chapters, p. 165.

New Yorker, October 11, 1999, Erik Larson, "Free Money," p. 76.

Publishers Weekly, November 12, 2001, review of Chapters, p. 52.

ONLINE

Florida Times-Union Online, http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/ (April 16, 2002), "Confidence, Leadership Propelled Candice Carpenter from Fletcher High School to Internet CEO."