Bio: Ruth A. Sheets, MBA

Ruth Sheets' path to becoming a business consultant and owner of Ducks in a Row Consulting in Newburyport, Massachusetts began at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Soon after earning her bachelor's degree in psychology in 1981, Ms. Sheets began working in various capacities, including six years in accounting at Duke University. In 1991, she embarked on an MBA program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. During her three years of study, she worked as an information technology (IT) consultant and grew increasingly interested in the field of business consulting.

In 1993, Ms. Sheets earned her graduate degree and, in 1994, moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts where she gained public sector consulting experience with the Public Strategies Group.  After 3-1/2 years, she became the program coordinator for the Institute for Public Leadership Campaign Skills Workshop for the Northeast Alliance of YWCAs.  At the same time, the budding entrepreneur also decided to branch out on her own and, in 1998, formally launched Ducks in a Row Consulting.

As a SOMWBA-WBE certified company, Ducks in A Row Consulting helps companies to launch new products and services, grow their businesses, eliminate barriers to business viability, and achieve their goals.  Through her company, Ms. Sheets provides strategic consulting for start-ups, fix-ups, and build-ups. She works primarily with service businesses, helping them to increase their revenue and profitability and fix operational problems that have become obstacles to business growth. Working with companies in various stages of transition, she approaches business issues from both an operational and marketing point of view.  In her own words, she “turns business pains into business gains." Most of her clients see almost immediate results and many double their revenue. 

Since 1993, Ms. Sheets has joined several associations, served on multiple committees and boards of directors. She currently serves as a Corporator of Meridian Financial Services, Inc., the holding corporation of East Boston Savings Bank, and as a board member of the Meridian Charitable Foundation.  She is a board member and past president of North Shore Women in Business, a member of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the North Shore Technology Council.  In April 2009, she served on the steering committee of the Women’s Economic Summit and is a former board member of the Women’s Crisis Center and the City of Newburyport’s Financial Planning Committee.

Recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Ruth Sheets also shares her knowledge through speaking engagements and business articles. She has been a guest of the North Shore Financial Forum, a presenter at the CEO Forum at the Enterprise Center at Salem State College, a business seminar sponsored by the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, and the North Shore Business Forum.  She has served as a panelist at the Entrepreneurial Training Programs at Northern Essex Community College and Salem Harbor CDC.  She has also contributed articles for The Navigator, the newsletter of the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, NAYE Exchange, a newsletter of the National Association of YWCA Executives, as well as the North Shore North and North Shore Surfer newspapers.

To obtain more information about Ruth Sheets and Ducks in a Row Consulting please call 978-463-2264 or contact us online.