Bio
Mr. Gray is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and a Citadel 2011 MBA Alumni.
Mark has invested, owned, and operated several notable businesses in greater Charleston and The Lowcountry over the past 16 years including Steel City Pizza Co., a “Top 100 Independent” award winning brand and The SERG Group, Hilton Head’s largest employer with 14 unique brands.
In addition to his direct managed businesses, Mark has provided advisory services for several South Carolina based startups; and, consulted for Family Office and Angel Investors targeting ‘main street’ opportunities.
Regarding early phase firms, Mark provides guidance on value creation and “the process” of transforming creative ideas into commercially viable businesses.
As it relates to main street investors, Mark has extensive experience along the entire deal flow pipeline including; capital – preformation and structuring; financial – valuations and modeling; legacy planning, succession, and exiting.
Mark has served at The Citadel for the past 4 years in a variety of capacities. First, beginning as a volunteer mentor to cadets aspiring to become entrepreneurs, a guest speaker, then guest lecturer working under former Dean, Dr. Ronald F. Green.
As a practitioner, Mark’s entrepreneurship courses offer a pragmatic approach to real world entrepreneurship principles including (but not limited to) know thy-self, know thy-risk, and know thy-product, as fundamental building blocks to a successful venture.
Mark has a B.A. from The University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from The Citadel. Other credentials include, active FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Association) qualifications, a certificate in Treasury Management from The AFP (Association of Financial Professionals) and Commercial Real Estate Analysis postgraduate at Cornell University.
At Pitt, Mark was a Division 1 letter athlete in men’s wrestling and carries a single digit handicap on the golf course (when his back permits).
He is married to Staff Sargent Anna Gray who is a veteran of The United States Air Force.
Degrees
- M.B.A., The Citadel
- B.A., University of Pittsburgh