Josh Carter – Air Transport Services Group, Inc.

In the summer of 2002, a college student spent his nights on the third-shift ramp at Airborne Express in Wilmington, Ohio, sorting boxes and supporting flight operations for an hourly wage and thinking little about where the job might lead. More than two decades later, that same person walked back through the doors of Air Transport Services Group (“ATSG”), the company that traces its roots to Airborne Express, this time as senior vice president, chief legal officer and secretary. For Joshua Carter, the return to ATSG is not just a new title. It is a full-circle moment that speaks to opportunity, education, persistence, and the impact a company can have on someone’s life and career.

Josh Carter | Air Transport Services Group, Inc. | Chief Legal Officer & Secretary

Air Transport Services Group is a leading aviation solutions provider delivering value to customers around the world through air transportation, aircraft leasing, maintenance and logistics services. Across its companies, ATSG brings together talented people with an uncompromising commitment to safety and operational excellence to connect the world, enable customer success and shape the future of aviation.

Many people are surprised to learn that ATSG supports a significant portion of Amazon’s air network, serves customers like UPS and DHL, operates three airlines in Air Transport International, ABX Air and Omni Air, and maintains a large aircraft leasing platform along with a workforce of highly skilled maintenance technicians and aviation professionals.

A path shaped by service

Carter did not grow up imagining a career in law, let alone a seat in the C-suite of an aviation company. He was raised in a small farm town in Ohio, in a household marked by hardship. His mother was in and out of prison, and the family relied on welfare to get by. When he told people he planned to go to law school, some doubted he would make it through seven years of additional schooling.

He graduated into one of the worst job markets in recent memory for young attorneys, as the country was climbing out of the 2008 recession. The Air Force was the only organization hiring, and it gave him his first real foothold, a civilian contracting officer role that immersed him in government contracts and mission-driven work. Part of that work involved supporting special forces operations during the Iraq conflict, including the delivery of helicopters to soldiers in the field. The experience reinforced the importance of mission, service and accountability, values that continue to anchor his leadership style today.

Building credibility at the highest levels

From the Air Force, Carter moved into the private sector, joining Marathon Petroleum, where he played a key role in supporting several billion-dollar acquisitions. Those transactions exposed him to complex business decisions with significant financial and operational implications and helped shape his approach as a legal leader. They reinforced his belief that the most effective lawyers do more than identify risk. They help organizations make informed decisions, solve problems, and create value. When an opportunity arose to join GKN Aerospace following its acquisition by a London-based private equity firm, Carter embraced the challenge. While colleagues questioned his decision to leave the stability of a well-regarded Fortune 50 company, he viewed it as a calculated risk that would provide international, aerospace, and private equity experience while broadening his perspective as a business leader.

“Where you start doesn’t determine where you finish,” Carter says.

As Carter’s responsibilities grew through increasingly senior leadership roles, so did his conviction that legal leaders create the most value when they understand the business, not just the law. The experience reinforced a lesson that continues to guide him today: the best outcomes come from collaboration, humility and surrounding yourself with people who bring different expertise and perspectives to the table.

“You have to put your ego aside and surround yourself with people who are smarter than you or who know different things,” Carter says.

At TE Connectivity, Carter led the implementation of artificial intelligence tools to streamline government contract review, cutting the time and resources required for a historically slow process. The initiative reflected a willingness to modernize, but it did not come without caution, particularly when it comes to developing the next generation of attorneys.

“If you’re not using AI, you’re going to get left behind,” Carter says.

Even so, he worries that newer lawyers may lean on artificial intelligence before they have built a foundation of their own. He remembers spending hours in the law school library searching for answers that a search engine could not yet provide, and he believes that kind of groundwork still matters. Young associates at ATSG are encouraged to work through problems on their own and to lean on experienced attorneys before turning to AI, a balance he sees as essential to developing sound judgment rather than dependence.

ATSG “One Team” & what comes next

Carter joined ATSG in August 2025, stepping into a role that oversees legal strategy across roughly ten businesses operating under one corporate parent. He describes the work as building alignment as much as managing risk, helping foster a shared culture of collaboration, safety and operational excellence across ATSG’s airlines, leasing and maintenance businesses while respecting the unique missions, operations and responsibilities of each company. It is a cultural effort as much as a business one, aimed at helping employees across every division feel connected to a shared mission.

Much of that mission remains invisible to the traveling public. ATSG’s aircraft rarely carry the company’s name, even as they move a substantial share of the goods people order every day.

“It doesn’t say ATSG on the sides of our planes, so you would never know that we’re responsible for flying those products,” Carter says.

The company also supports defense-related flying, a natural extension of Carter’s Air Force background, and maintains its fleet of 767 aircraft while providing maintenance for industry-leading airlines such as Delta and Frontier through skilled maintenance teams who keep those planes safe and on schedule. Since joining ATSG, Carter has played a key role in the company’s value creation efforts, including streamlining legal operations, reducing outside counsel spending by approximately 20 percent, and helping drive more than $1 million in insurance-related savings. For Carter, those initiatives reflect a core leadership principle: legal should protect the business while also enabling growth, improving performance and creating value for stakeholders.

“ATSG is an amazing company, and we invest in our communities and the people who call them home,” Carter says.

Indeed, Carter is quick to redirect attention to the people who make ATSG successful. He notes that the company is powered by thousands of employees across its airlines, maintenance operations, leasing and logistics businesses who show up every day committed to safety, operational excellence and serving customers. Those employees, he says, are the reason ATSG has earned the trust of some of the world’s largest aviation, e-commerce, and logistics companies.

Carter is candid about adjusting to the responsibilities that come with serving as the company’s chief legal officer, particularly without a legal executive above him and while advising a chief executive who is not a lawyer. He has navigated that transition by relying on the same approach that has served him throughout his career: building strong relationships, seeking diverse perspectives and surrounding himself with talented people he trusts.

Outside the office, Carter and his wife are kept busy by their 14- and 11-year-old children, along with a shared love of watersports, boating and travel. He speaks with visible pride about mentoring former colleagues who have gone on to their own leadership roles, a reminder that his definition of success extends well beyond his own title. Developing future leaders has become one of Carter’s greatest professional passions. Throughout his career, he has focused on creating opportunities for talented employees, particularly those from nontraditional backgrounds, helping them gain exposure, build confidence and prepare for roles of increasing responsibility. He believes leadership is measured not only by personal success, but by how many people you help elevate along the way.

For young attorneys and first-generation professionals wondering whether a path like his is possible, Carter’s answer is straightforward.

“There is no playbook, and there is no defined path, but if you work hard and take calculated risks, you can get there,” Carter says.

Nearly a quarter century after he first walked onto the ramp as an hourly employee, Carter now helps steer ATSG from its executive offices, carrying with him the same lesson that shaped his entire career: where you start is never where you must finish.