Matthew is Canadian-born with Irish dual-citizenship from his parents, raised in Aurora Ontario 40km north of the greater Toronto area. Matthew has experienced living in 4 different countries and traveled to many, has passengered a two-seater cargo bush plane to live on a small Tasmanian island for 4 months, has hitch-hicked with a friend to the Shire (movie set location from Lord of The Rings) in rural New Zeland, surfed the frigid cold waters of the Irish-Atlantic, he’s performed at a music concert for an arena of 800 people, and met his lovely Finnish partner of 10 years-strong in the sunny city of Brisbane, Australia.

In the past, he’s worked at an aquarium retail store, has been a drum builder’s apprentice, a short-order cook, event catering server, an in-store sales representative for a well-known Canadian apparel brand, a boarding school teachers’ assistant, to helping develop a family-run business, then later working for a unit of the United Nations, digital agencies and startups. His curiosity, eagerness to explore, learn and diverse background has helped him to not only step out of his comfort zone but also approach things holistically in everything he does with a positive impact.

In 2013, he started his formal education journey in Finland, studying a bachelor’s in tourism, raising his interest in experience economy, mobility, and destination marketing. Having done a thesis focused on contexual localization in the travel industry, it influenced him to pursue a master’s degree to deepen his knowledge in the dynamic field of digital marketing. Matthew also has a fascination with psychology and environments (physical and virtual) which influence behavior. During his time as a student, he’s been taking on freelance side projects (e.g web design & optimization) and engrossed in internet business and the functions that drive it. For example, one of his latest accomplishments involves helping a traditional small business become more digital-centric, which now generates around 80% of its leads and on-going revenue through its web presence. Though not limited to, Matthew gravitates his interest towards industries like retail, hospitality, transportation, music, entertainment, and of course design, marketing, and advertising.

Being growth-oriented, Matthew is always ready for the next big challenge and step into the unknown. He most enjoys working with value proposition, creative endeavors, and people-centered roles. In pop psychology assessments, Matthew scores high in Openness to Experience in his Big Five profile with moderately high scores in Agreeableness and Extraversion. You can find Matthew at your nearest music venue, gaming by building virtual cities, at the gym, and spending time with friends, and his partner.