Garrett Ray, MBA

Garrett Ray joined Wealth Guardians’ staff in February 2022 and holds his Series 65 license as well as his North Carolina insurance licenses for life, health, and long-term care.

He graduated from The Citadel in 2007 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering having attended on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation, Garrett accepted his commission as an Ensign in the Navy and was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, and then Naval Mobile Construction Battalion ONE in Gulfport, Mississippi.

After completing his Naval obligation he joined Polypore Inc. as a process engineer becoming intimately involved in membrane production for use in lithium-ion batteries later moving into a management position. While working at Polypore, and earning his MBA at Wake Forest University, a relatively new company by the name of Tesla entered discussions to acquire Polypore. Garrett was involved in discussions around the potential acquisition and was eventually recruited by Tesla to join their team as a Production Manager in developing the battery powertrain for the Model three. During his two years at Tesla in the Reno, Nevada Gigafactory he helped to hire and build the Tesla Production team on-site, as well as commission and launch three high-speed battery module production lines.

In 2019 Garrett transferred to a position with Anheuser-Busch in Jacksonville, Florida working as a Production Supervisor in high-volume aluminum can production. After 10 years in manufacturing, Garrett decided to return to North Carolina and pursue a career change towards his lifelong interest in the financial services industry. He works in our Clemmons office and lives in the Greensboro area.

Garrett is the proud father of Lachlan and Anna Claire and in his free time enjoys all types of outdoor activities including hiking, golf, and camping. Garrett loves fantasy football, cooking, and one of his favorite hobbies, brewing craft beers from his own custom recipes.