Greg Matthews, MBA ’23: Advancing in Sports Leadership with an Executive MBA Advantage

From finance at Disney to helping to launch LAFC

From his hometown in Fairfax, Virginia, to his current residence in Palo Alto, California, Matthews has led a career that has taken him from coast to coast. He started his career working in finance and worked for more than a decade in Los Angeles, where he held multiple roles at The Walt Disney Co. 

“I thought I would be at The Walt Disney Co. my entire career. I spent time in the consumer products, corporate, and Walt Disney International segments,” said Matthews. “I really enjoyed visiting and supporting different regions as we worked to grow the Disney brand outside North America.”

His plans to continue growing at Disney, however, changed in 2016 when he discovered an opportunity he couldn’t pass up: joining the early leadership team launching a new Major League Soccer franchise in LA, which would become the Los Angeles Football Club. As a self-proclaimed soccer fanatic, this was a dream come true for Matthews. So, he left Disney and accepted the position of vice president of finance for the brand-new LAFC.

At LAFC, Matthews rapidly gained experience navigating the many challenges and exciting opportunities that come with a career in sports. With the team being so new, there was always a new problem to solve.

“Helping to build a professional sports franchise from the ground up required everyone to work efficiently, wear many hats, and make decisions quickly. Luckily, we had a great vision for the club and an extraordinary ownership group that funded the building of a brand-new stadium in downtown Los Angeles,” Matthews explained. “I'll always remember that as one of the biggest achievements I’ve been a part of. Many people in sports go their entire career without building a new arena or stadium. That was a major learning experience for me and one that I’ve carried through the rest of my career.”

Bridging strategy, sports, and global events

Matthews’ time at LAFC paved the way for new opportunities in the sports world, including a role on the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This new role merged both his Disney and LAFC experiences, requiring another ground-up build project of scaling the organization from 30 people to one of thousands. 

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially with the Olympics taking place in my own city, which last happened in LA in 1984, and in the United States in 2002,” Matthews said. “It could be several decades before the games returned to the United States again. It was a difficult decision to leave LAFC, a sport that I love, but my thought process was that after the 2028 LA Olympic Games, I could always return to professional sports.” 

For three years, Matthews served on the committee, helping to establish the accounting and finance departments and operationalizing the long-term strategic plan. As the strategy phase was nearing a close and the operational phase was on the horizon, he was approached with an opportunity to return to professional sports: the San Jose Sharks hockey team was seeking a chief financial officer.

The opportunity to join a new project during a rebuild was a perfect fit for his career, considering his prior experiences and expertise with building businesses from the ground up. He decided to make the leap and accepted his current role and first C-suite position at the Sharks.

“My favorite part of the job at the Sharks is the people. This is a very dedicated and talented group of people who only want to bring winning back to San Jose. This team was one of the most consistently competitive National Hockey League franchises before its recent downturn,” Matthews said. “The Sharks now have one of the most highly rated prospect pools in the NHL, and there’s real excitement about what the next few years could bring.”

Taking the next step with Michigan Ross

Between his work with the Olympic Organizing Committee and his move to the San Jose Sharks, Matthews decided to pursue an MBA to support his continued growth as a leader. He looked at programs across the United States and visited five schools before enrolling in the Ross School of Business Executive MBA Program in LA.

“One of the reasons I chose Ross was the global reach that the University of Michigan seemed to have. Also, it’s not only a top school academically, consistently ranked in the top five EMBA programs nationally, but also athletically, which played a role for me as a huge sports fan,” Matthews said. “It’s funny, just a few weeks ago, my daughter asked me, ‘Why does everyone always say, ‘Go Blue’ to you?’ And that’s just how big the network is, regardless of where you are, if you’re wearing the block M, someone is bound to say it.”

From a curriculum standpoint, Matthews says the program helped him round out his operational skills and knowledge, expanding upon his operational experience at LAFC and the Olympic Organizing Committee.

“Now, after my MBA program and heavy operational finance positions in sports, I would feel confident moving into more focused operational roles,” he said. “The EMBA faculty genuinely cared; they flew into LA for our in-person classes and spent as much time with the students as possible. The career consultants at Ross also played a big part in the success of the program and were always accessible to help us.”

“With a family, two children at home, and a full-time job, it was not easy to find the time to complete an MBA program. But they really do support you and are there to help, and that was something I wasn’t expecting, and it helped me immensely. Especially, as I was also transitioning into my role as CFO over that same period.”

Leading with passion and perspective

Now in his third year with the San Jose Sharks, Matthews says he couldn’t be happier with where his career has taken him. He’s committed to supporting the organization as it works toward rebuilding a winning franchise, returning to the playoffs, and one day securing its first Stanley Cup.

In his role as CFO, Matthews says he finds a rewarding balance between big-picture strategy and day-to-day leadership. He draws on the large-scale planning experience he gained at Disney and the Olympic Organizing Committee, while also managing the team's day-to-day operations, mirroring the fast-paced, championship-driven environment he thrived in at LAFC.

His advice to students looking to follow similar paths was simple: if you’re truly passionate about something, go after it.

“There are a lot of challenges in sports, yet people kind of view it as a glamorous job. There is a ton of hard work that goes into sports, which are now full-scale entertainment companies. There are very long hours, and your franchise is always in the public eye,” Matthews said.

“You should get into sports because you love it. There’s always a challenge to overcome, and because the organizations tend to run lean, what you do makes a big difference. Realistically, the compensation won’t be the same as at a consulting or a global company. But if you live and breathe live events, you’ll love what you do every day.”