Carl F. Mitchell

Carl is a Georgia native, having grown up on a dairy farm. He was educated in Morgan County public schools, University of Maryland and Georgia State University. He spent 18 months on active duty with the U.S. Army in South Korea.

He has spent his entire career in the trade show industry, starting with Manncraft in Atlanta in 1971. He was appointed vice president and general manager of GES in 1976, moving up to regional vice president of GES in 1978. Carl purchased Shepard with his then partner, Sherman Wade, in 1982.

He has served on the board of the Atlanta Convention Visitor Bureau and the local boards of the American Red Cross and the National Kidney Foundation. He was one of the original commissioners representing the convention services companies on the APEX Initiative of the Convention Industry Council. In addition to all of this, Carl has served on the board of the Exhibition Service Contractors Association, acting for two terms as ESCA president.

As Shepard has grown to a combination of 16 offices nationwide, Carl has transitioned to the role of Executive Chairman – still active and involved with Shepard business on a daily basis.