Matt Higgins

Higgins became one of the first employees – and ultimately Chief Operating Officer – of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the federally funded government agency created to plan the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Mr. Higgins helped organize the largest international design competition in history culminating in Reflecting Absence, the September 11th National Memorial, and the development of the 1,776-feet-tall One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Northern Hemisphere.

Making his mark on two NFL franchises, Mr. Higgins spent 15 years in senior leadership positions with National Football League teams, overseeing the revenue functions of the New York Jets as Executive Vice President of Business Operations, and then serving as Vice Chairman of the Miami Dolphins from 2012–2021.

Higgins serves as an Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School, co-teaching the course “Moving Beyond Direct-to-Consumer”, the leading course on direct-to-consumer brands in the United States. Making a splash on ABC’s Shark Tank, Matt joined the likes of Chris Sacca and Sara Blakely, as a Guest Shark on the Emmy award-winning TV show during seasons 10-11. In 2023, his debut book, Burn the Boats, landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Pushing the boundaries of the consumer experience, Higgins expanded RSE’s focus to scale some of New York City’s most iconic brands, from Magnolia Bakery, David Chang’s Momofuku and Milk Bar to &pizza and Bluestone Lane. Higgins has overseen the expansion of these concepts into grocery stores, with the launch of CPG products all across America. From Magnolia Bakery’s soft baked cookies in concession stands at the U.S. Open, Milk Bar’s famed ice cream hitting the freezer aisle, and Momofuku’s Chili Crunch Oil becoming a household pantry staple, Higgins has taken these quintessential brands global. With investments in Magic Spoon, Gorgie, Outstanding Foods, and Banza, Higgins has become a proven backer of the next generation of new wave brands disrupting the CPG space.

Additional highlights of RSE’s portfolio include Resy, an Open Table competitor acquired by American Express in 2019; MSCHF, the art collective of the zeitgeist; Beta Technologies, building a next generation electric vertical take-off and landing (evTOL) aircraft; and Relevent Sports, a media rights agency, with a joint venture with global soccer leagues Premier League and LaLiga, organizing matches around the world attended by over 365,000 fans in US and Mexico. Higgins is also co-owner of VaynerMedia, the largest social-media-first agency in the world founded by Gary Vaynerchuk.

In 2019, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, joining the ranks of seven former U.S. presidents, Nobel Prize winners and other leaders for work to improve society. He is also a longstanding board member of Autism Speaks.