Mary Shelman

Mary Shelman is an internationally recognized thought-leader, author and speaker on global agribusiness, ag-tech and food system trends. A former director of Harvard Business School’s Agribusiness Program, she now works with companies, governments and investors around the world through her consulting and advisory firm, Shelman Group, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Through Shelman Group, she provides unique insights into technology and consumer trends and champions collaboration, industry alignment and strategic planning to achieve system-wide improvements and create pathways for sustainable growth.

Shelman has worked with organizations of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, as a consultant, strategic advisor and active board member. In Ireland, she co-created a new unified vision for the Irish agri-food industry, which resulted in the introduction of Origin Green, the world’s first country-level sustainability program. She has also led several projects focused on short- and long-term corporate strategies for privately held agri-food companies and industry associations. Recently, Shelman Group was engaged to create a food and ag-tech ecosystem strategy for the Lexington/Bluegrass region of Kentucky.

Shelman currently serves on the strategic advisory boards of Crop Enhancement, Inc., and Village Capital and is a venture partner at Radicle Growth, an ag-tech fund based in California.

Shelman’s commitment to industry leadership through improving human capital brought her to Harvard Business School, where she shepherded the renowned HBS Agribusiness Seminar. Her ongoing research spans multiple sectors, geographies and company scopes. She is the author of more than 70 case studies on the world’s top agri-food businesses and has taught and given keynote presentations in over 20 countries.

A native of Kentucky, where she still owns a 475-acre grain farm, Shelman received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with high distinction from the University of Kentucky and a master’s degree in business administration with distinction from Harvard Business School.