ALUMNI FE ATURE / MAT T BENTON ’05
Matt Benton ’05
I M PAC T I N G
T E C H
F
or Uber executive Matt Benton ’05, CPA has equipped him with
foundational skills of exploration, collaboration, and Christian worl-
dview in a rapidly evolving tech industry.
Matt is an executive at Uber’s international headquarters in
Amsterdam, Netherlands. As an integral member of their Rider & Driver
technology team, Matt implements strategy shaping major markets across
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Matt and his wife Macey have fully em-
braced this international assignment, traveling often and delving into foreign
culture and landscape.
“There was always a lot of freedom at CPA to be yourself, to question the
status quo, and look at things from a different perspective. Those traits are
crucial in solving the complex problems I encounter in the tech industry,”
explains Matt.
Matt studied economics at the University of Mississippi and got his pro-
fessional start working for the Nashville private equity firm, Meadowbrook.
After his interest in the tech industry grew, he accepted his position with
Uber in Nashville.
“It has been an incredible privilege to help build such a transformation
company, but I’ve learned that the influence we have rightly carries much
responsibility and a very bright spotlight. As we redefine the future of work,
transportation, and opportunity around the world, we need to ensure we are
doing so responsibly and ethically,” states Matt.
“Working in developing markets like Egypt, Pakistan & Nigeria has given
me a front row seat to the difficulties people face in their day-to-day lives. In
developing countries, poverty can be an inescapable hole for many people.
Seeing how the opportunity to drive with Uber has empowered so many peo-
ple has been the most rewarding experience of my career so far,” says Matt.
Matt sites two teachers who helped shape him at CPA: “Dr. Brooks, who
was a physics teacher and taught us that intellectual curiosity was something
to be nurtured; and Andy Patton, a Latin instructor who led the hardest and
most rewarding class I took during my time at CPA. Both of them fostered an
interest in lifelong learning, and both encouraged the idea that success isn’t
always directly linked to classroom performance. Matt encourages young
people at the Academy to find a passion outside the classroom, something
that fulfills and fuels you. Matt believes that all work has purpose, and he
references one of Scott Sauls’ sermons to reinforce this: The work that we do
in that world, whether creative or restorative or both, represents a signifi-
cant contribution to the cosmic mission of God. Any kind of work that leaves
people, places, or things in better shape than before—any kind of work that
helps the city of man become more like the City of God where truth, beauty,
goodness, order, and justice reign—is work that should be celebrated as good.
There was always a lot of freedom at
CPA to be yourself, to question the
status quo, and look at things from a
different perspective. Those traits are
crucial in solving the complex problems
I encounter in the tech industry.
26
Purple & Gold / September 2018