Forty Under 40: Greg Shipley

Greg Shipley founded Morrison-Shipley Engineers Inc. in 1996 with partner Neal Morrison. Morrison and Shipley had worked together at Mickel-Wagner-Coleman Inc. in Fort Smith where Shipley was a project engineer for six years.nA Fort Smith native, Shipley earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1988. He said the best thing about co-owning a business is “being able to chart our own direction and seeing your efforts become your fruits.”nMorrison-Shipley’s revenue has grown steadily at a rate of about 20 percent annually, Shipley said of the 26-employee firm.nStarting their own firm, Shipley said, gave the partners a chance to pursue opportunities that they couldn’t pursue otherwise. The firm’s focus is land planning and engineering for large-scale residential and commercial projects.nAbout 80 percent of its customers are repeat customers, Shipley said.n”Take risks at a young age,” Shipley said. “If it doesn’t work out, you’ve still got time to do something else.”nShipley is a past president of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers and was selected in 2000 as the Young Engineer of the Year by it. n