Entrepreneur and philanthropist Carlton Highsmith will be the first inductee of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council Hall of Fame.
Highsmith is the founder of Specialized Packaging Group (SPG), a formerly New Haven-based package design and package engineering firm. He started that business in the Elm City back in 1983, growing it into one of the largest manufacturers of paperboard packaging in North America, according to a press release from the council. SPG would go on to design product packaging for companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Clorox, SC Johnson, and Unilever, according to the release.
The company was recognized as the largest minority-owned firm in the state in 2009 with annual revenues of $180 million, according to the release. Highsmith retired in 2010 after SPG merged with PaperWorks Industries.
Highsmith went on to be a major funder of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT) and has served as its board chair since 2012. He is also vice-chair of the board of trustees of Quinnipiac University; a member of the Yale-New Haven Hospital System board of trustees; and a member of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven board of trustees, according to the release.
“I’m pleased to accept this recognition from GNEMSDC,” Highsmith said in the release. “I share their commitment to encouraging and recognizing excellence, perseverance, and inclusive economic opportunity for all.”
The Greater New England council is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. It serves the six New England states and is one of 24 regional councils throughout the United States and its territories, according to the release.
