Abacoa & Alton Neighbors - November 2026

Louis Carter PROFILES OF LEADERSHIP - By Dan Hauser | Photos by Neil Cohen Photography - COVER FEATURE FOUNDER & CEO - BEST PRACTICE INSTITUTE W hen Louis Carter looks back at the path that led him to become founder and CEO of Palm Beach Gardens-based Best Practice Institute and creator of Most Loved Workplace®, it doesn't resemble a traditional entrepreneurial journey. It began in New York City in 2001, while Carter was pursuing a master's degree in social-organizational psychology at Columbia University. Then September 11 happened. With classes suspended, Carter organized a drum circle on Columbia’s campus as a way to bring people together. “Music was a way to connect,” he recalled. “At a time like that, being together mattered.” That instinct to bring people together would become a recurring theme in Carter's life and work. Another formative moment came through his friend Joe Bonito, then Vice President of Leadership Development at Pfizer. When Carter approached him looking for a job, Bonito initially laughed at the idea that Carter would fit into a large corporation. But the conversation soon took a different turn. “I said, let's make a consortium of people who can give their best practices in the field of what we do in human resources,” Carter shared. “Let's bring them all together. And we'll create a consortium.” That idea became Best Practice Institute. Twenty-five years later, BPI is headquartered on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens. Carter's work has expanded into research on leadership, organizational culture and employee experience, eventually leading to Most Loved Workplace® and the Love of Workplace Index®. But Carter's connection to Palm Beach County extends well beyond where his company is located. “I wanted to start a family of my own,” Carter said of his decision to leave New York and move to Florida. “Moving here was a change for me, and I started realizing more about what mattered most,” he added. Much of what mattered became rooted in family and the community around him. Carter and his daughter run the Zoe Loren 5K each year, an event that carries particular meaning for him as a father and that Most Loved Workplace® sponsors as part of 8 A B A C O A & A LT O N N E I G H B O R S | N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6