Carlos Watson

One of four children, and the only son of teachers, Carlos was raised in sunny Miami, FL. With both of his parents holding Masters degrees, Carlos learned early on to value education. Upon graduation from Ransom Everglades School, he moved north to attend Harvard University. As an undergraduate, Carlos wrote over 50 articles for the Miami Herald and the Detroit Free Press, and worked for Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez and Senator Bob Graham. As journalist Seth Gitell reflects, “His strong political interests, insatiable curiosity and ability as a conversationalist made him well–known on campus.” Carlos graduated with honors from Harvard in 1991 with a degree in Government.

After Harvard, Carlos worked as chief of staff and campaign Manager for Florida Representative Daryl Jones and managed Bill Clinton’ s 1992 Election Day effort in Miami-Dade County. Carlos later attended Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and president of the Stanford Law School Student Government.

Business

Shortly after graduating from law school, Carlos began work at McKinsey & Company, a prestigious global strategic consulting firm. After two years with McKinsey, Carlos left to co-found Achieva College Prep Service, an educational company designed to help middle and high school students achieve their college dreams.

Based in San Mateo, California, Achieva was quickly lauded by publications such as Time , The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. In record time, the company became one of the leading college preparatory forces in the country. Carlos sold Achieva to a publicly traded corporation in 2002 but remains very active in promoting education for underprivileged students in the Bay Area. He is currently on the board of directors for College Track, a program he co-founded to aid students in East Palo Alto and Oakland.

Broadcast

Carlos began his television career in 2002, with guest appearances on Fox and Court TV. On Labor Day 2003, he hosted a highly rated prime–time interview show on CNBC featuring presidential candidate Howard Dean, quarterback Joe Montana, and future Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria. Carlos hosted a second successful interview show and was offered his own continuing interview show on CNBC, before being wooed over to CNN as a regular newscast contributor.

For nearly three years, Carlos appeared regularly as a political commentator on CNN, most notably covering the 2004 presidential elections with Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and Jeff Greenfield. Also while at CNN, Watson wrote a popular column on www.cnn.com and hosted two airings of his own prime-time interview show. This time, the lineup included basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and supermodel–cum–Project Runway star Heidi Klum. Carlos also hosted a show called Meet the Faith on BET.

With these exciting hosting experiences under his belt, Carlos turned his attention to his true love: conversation! In 2006 Carlos founded Run Rabbit Run Productions to develop Conversations with Carlos Watson. The show is already generating buzz for its fresh approach to interviews and its innovative business model. The same year, Carlos became a co–owner of the soccer team DC United. With a primetime show, a sports team, and dynamic ventures to his name, Carlos is fast becoming one of the most innovative TV hosts of his time.

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