Allen Carroll is chief cartographer and executive vice president of National Geographic Maps. As chief cartographer, Carroll presides over the editorial and creative efforts of the Society's map division, including its renowned reference and wall maps, globes and atlases. He was instrumental in launching the National Geographic MapMachine, its first interactive atlas on the Web. Carroll has presided over the creation of the Seventh and Eighth editions of the World Atlas, incorporating satellite imagery and innovative thematic maps into the editions and integrating them for the first time with interactive Web resources. He has spearheaded the creation of many new maps, ranging from decorative wall maps and supplement maps for National Geographic magazine to special projects featuring global biodiversity, environment and international development.



In the late 1990s Carroll presided over the shift of NG Maps from a division of National Geographic to the Society's new taxable subsidiary, National Geographic Ventures. With partnerships and acquisitions, the group extended its product lines to include road atlases, road maps and outdoor recreation maps.



From 1991 to 1995 Carroll was art director of National Geographic, producing historical, scientific and informational artwork, and leading an effort to establish a corporate identity program for the Society. Carroll received two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators for his work during this period, and depicted subjects ranging from the Big Bang to the evolution of planet Earth to the workings of the immune system. He served as art director of the Society's Historical Atlas of the United States, a richly illustrated history of America in maps, pictures and text produced for the Society's centennial in 1988.



Prior to joining the Society in 1983, Carroll was a free-lance illustrator and designer in Washington, serving clients such as The Washington Post, Smithsonian Institution, Readers Digest, The New Republic, the American Film Institute and Johns Hopkins University. Self-trained in design, illustration and cartography and an avid bird watcher, Carroll is a magna cum laude graduate of Connecticut College, and was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.