Executive Bio

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 “Everything you do tells your story.”

Batches of Sangria and Altoids in first-class. That was Tara Matheny as a young flight attendant — transforming bits of nothing into an unforgettable and entertaining experience for her customers. Twenty years later, Matheny still leaps into each new business opportunity, finding inspiration wherever she goes. A versatile Creative with sharp business acumen, Matheny’s been promoted in every role she’s had within three months of starting. But she is driven by helping others advance. Tara raises up everyone around her and it’s reflected in how they talk about her: dedicated, extremely intelligent, multifaceted, mentor, compassionate.

She believes the most effective leader straddles the worlds of leadership and management by creating a vision and modeling behavior; never fully detaching from a company’s day-to-day needs and operations. Intensely empathetic, Matheny invites authentic feedback from her employees and colleagues alike.

“The most important thing,” says Tara, “is when people wake up in the morning they want to come to work. But what is the purpose behind that motivation?” It’s one of the questions she asks and answers over and over at each organization she’s served with and every company she’s led.

Matheny understands how to build a strong business and how to strengthen its culture, because she’s done it at every level. "A branded culture program is just as important as campaign efforts to capture new customers. Everything you do tells your story, which includes employee engagement. There must be an anchor. It must be organized. People need to connect the dots and know the why… their purpose. So, I want that to exist for whomever I work with.”

In the past seven years alone, Matheny has overseen more than $15MM worth of hospitality projects. This includes mentoring agencies she’s moved on from, because building and maintaining genuine business relationships is key. Once Tara Matheny envisions a path forward, there is very little that can deter her. 

Humble yet bold.

Determined to make a difference.