by Sarah Diehn – Business Record
Much of Matt Hansen’s nearly 30-year career working with financial services companies happened abroad, including in Austria and England. Originally from Texas, he acquired his sense of “wanderlust” from his grandmother, the matriarch of the family.
“She traveled all over the place. At 84, she was riding elephants in Kathmandu,” Hansen said. “I really wanted to get out and see the world, and I had a career path that allowed me to do so.”
He worked as a banker before launching his travels with Cerberus Capital Management, a global private equity firm. The firm takes a hands-on approach to the companies it invests in, sending in Hansen and others to work alongside the teams as senior
managers.
But Hansen recognized that he was spending more of his time working to get a company growing, the part of leading a business that was meaningful to him. He sought to change that when he pursued the CEO opening at Johnston-based Growers Edge.
“Instead of spending 90% of my time to get to the 10% of my time that I found to be the most rewarding and enjoyable, this was a situation where 90% of my time would be spent on the meaningful, enjoyable aspects,” he said.
Growers Edge, a fintech startup serving the agriculture industry, started in 2016 as a federal crop insurance company. Since then it has grown several financial products and services to help ag retailers, manufacturers and farm mortgage originators support farmers across the country.
Hansen, who started leading the company at the beginning of this year, said the company’s mission of helping farmers be more innovative and sustainable aligns with his career goals.
“Making the world a better place is pretty inspiring at this stage of my career,” he said.
He now lives in Des Moines, where he said all the “great stereotypical things you hear are true.”
“Des Moines is a wonderful place. The Midwest makes me proud of and optimistic for America’s future,” he said.
Read the full article about Hansen here.