Gray Shipley

PARTNER, SHIPLEY FARMS BEEF

The story of Shipley Farms begins in 1872, when Nathan and Sarah Shipley purchased 115 acres of farmland beside Sarah’s family’s farmhouse in Vilas, North Carolina. Since then, the Shipley family has been breeding and raising premium quality beef on the family farm in the heart of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Beginning with a commitment to quality, Shipley Farms Beef is free of any added hormones or steroids, providing the same safe, clean, and delicious meat that has fed their family for generations. Never treated with antibiotics except in limited circumstances when medically necessary to treat a temporary illness, their cattle graze on lush, clover-rich mountain pastures, supplemented with a vegetable-based feed, producing beef with higher levels of nutrients than conventional feedlot beef production.

Gray Shipley carries on a 150-year family farming legacy with a passion for local food, farms, and communities. He is a partner at Shipley Farms and Watauga Butchery, with past experience fixing, building and leading businesses ranging from high-tech healthcare startups to custom steel fabrication. He also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Appalachian State University, teaching in the Entrepreneurship program in the Walker College of Business.

Gray took an unusual path to farming, with a previous career focused on fixing and building businesses in the startup and turnaround world. He has worked in a variety of roles leading sales, operations, and finance across industries ranging from 3D medical imaging tech to cotton gin manufacturing, and many others in between. He was previously CEO and Founder of Jones Valley Fabrication, an Alabama-based steel fabrication company. Gray has worked with multiple startup and turnaround ventures as well as multinational companies, and possesses expertise in sales, business process improvement, mergers and acquisitions, financial analysis, and corporate strategy. His commitment to growth extends beyond the farm and boardroom, as he actively mentors and advises individuals and companies seeking to navigate the complexities of business ownership.

Gray also serves on the Board of Directors of the Freedom Business Alliance, an organization devoted to combating human trafficking around the world through job creation and economic development. He received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth