Born, raised, and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Mr. Matthews is a graduate of Northeastern University, Boston. In 1978, Mr. Matthews was elected to Northeastern’s Board of Trustees. Subsequently, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Board and in 1989 was elected as the Board’s Chairman; a position he held for ten years. The University has honored Mr. Matthews with its highest honor-an Honorary Doctorate. Presently, Mr. Matthews serves as the University’s most senior advisor to the present Board’s Chairman and the University’s President with the title of Chairman Emeritus. The University’s most prestigious faculty and student awards, the Matthews’ Distinguished Professors and Scholars awards, were named for Mr. Matthews and his wife, Kathleen Waters Matthews. Elected to Northeastern’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Northeastern’s largest athletic facility, The Matthews Arena, was named in Mr. Matthews’ honor.
A well-known entrepreneur, Mr. Matthews has been instrumental in the founding of over thirty business ventures. A founder of the United States Football League, Mr. Matthews was the owner of the Boston Breakers Football Club.
Presently, Mr. Matthews is Managing Director of Hickory Hill Advisors, LLC, a venture capital firm; Chairman of Matthews Associates Limited; Chairman of Pinnacle Training Corporation; board member of Marketing Database Associates; advisor to AimNet Solutions Inc., a Mellon bank Company; and a board member of LaVida, Inc.
Also, Mr. Matthews is Chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation of North America, which he founded with the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail S. Gorbachev.