Matthew Cowan

I am a servant leader who puts people at the forefront of everything I do.  I have a long history of building extremely strong, lasting relationships through passion, loyalty, and positivity.  I excel at leading, training, managing up and down, and fostering an inclusive and diverse environment, where individuals can become the best versions of themselves. 

Throughout my career, I have displayed the ability to thrive in high pressure situations, with strong attention to detail and planning, and ability to anticipate what’s next.  I am a proven event strategist, with expertise in planning events of all types and sizes.  I am passionate about strategizing cross-team efforts globally with efficient and effective communication and innovation. 

DIRECTOR, EVENT PRODUCTION  
New York Road Runners, New York, NY | May 2022 – Present 
• Direct team of (4) FT Leads and Coordinators who plan weekly/bi-weekly races. 
• Responsible for developing new key business initiatives focused on event logistics, project management, vendor, and agency communication, as well as budget management.  
• Work with Senior Leadership Team to develop and implement strategic workflow processes and procedures that maximize department efficiency and effectiveness.  Oversaw new long-term calendar and resource planning, and onsite operations procedures. 
• Transportation Lead for the 2022 and 2023 NYC Marathon.  Spearheaded all planning and logistics related to transportation for 60,000 plus registrants, and thousands of staff, media, and others on race day.  Oversee the sourcing of all cars, ferry, and bus vendors. 
• Liaise externally with City Agencies (Parks, CPC, NYPD, FDNY, Mayor’s Office CECM, DOT, DSNY, MTA, etc.) and local communities to ensure successful operation of NYRR events.

SENIOR MANAGER, EVENT OPERATIONS & STRATEGY – Mets Events   
New York Mets, Flushing, NY | September 2013 – December 2016, January 2019 – May 2022
• Proven track record of end-to-end planning and execution of all non-baseball events at Citi Field.  Extremely well versed in successful management of events with guest counts of 10 to over 60,000, and clients/event types including social clients, corporate and community partners, competitive and fun races, public and private sporting events, stadium concerts, multi-day festivals, and high-end VIP.   
• Spearheaded the development and implementation of a new organization wide internal calendar to handle trainings, department events and ballpark construction projects. 
• Led organization wide initiatives related to Employee Development/Programs, Ticketing, Community Relations, and Corporate Partnership events, as well as marquee events tied into the World Series and All-Star 
• Managed marketing and promotions, VIP Hospitality, Ticketing, Permitting, and all day of operations on 8 multi-day music festivals and 13 full ballpark concerts.  
• Created event staffing plans for Security, Cleaning, Audio/Visual, Food and Beverage, Medical Services, Marketing and Ticket Account Services.
• Collaborate with Government Agencies and Local Officials regarding guidelines and permitting for all large-scale events.
• Partner with the Corporate Partnerships to manage relationships, and plan events/activations for clients such as Citi, Wise, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Nike.
• Directed player and alumni appearances in conjunction with Player Relations.
 

MANAGER, GUEST EXPERIENCE 
New York Mets, Flushing, NY | January 2017 – January 2019
• Directed the entire interview, training, scheduling, and management process of our Guest Service Representatives from Local Union 176
• Create and manage Guest Experience departmental budget.
• Design and delivery of annual gameday employee service training programs
• Worked with the NHL to coordinate staffing and special projects for the 2018 Winter Classic on New Year’s Day at Citi Field

EVENT AND SALES MANAGER  
Lacoste, New York, NY | May 2013 – September 2013
• Planned and executed all in-store promotions and events. 
• Managed logistical components and oversaw all athlete appearances and VIP hospitality at the US Open Boutique Store for Andy Roddick, John Isner and Mats Wilander
• Developed and implemented store visual directives. 
• Analyzed store financials and prepared daily, weekly, and monthly reports for managing directors and district managers.

PROJECT EMPLOYEE, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY  
National Basketball Association, New York, NY | January 2013 – March 2013
• Event organizer and lead for multiple Social Responsibility and NBA Cares events at the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend in Houston. 
• Oversight of logistics for all Community Relations events including: Day of Service, FIT Celebration, Special Olympics, Dribble to Stop Diabetes, Make a Wish, and National Wheelchair Association. 
• Managed volunteers and attendees at the NBA Jam Session held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, which saw over 150,000 attendees. 
• Served as point of contact for key stakeholders and VIP appearances.

ASSISTANT MANAGER, PRINT AND DIGITAL MEDIA 
Macy’s Merchandising Group, New York, NY | July 2011 – December 2012
• Managed in-store marketing campaigns as well as digital media and online assets for Macy’s Private Brands. 
• Served as the primary contact with Marketing, Visual, Creative, Production, and Merchant teams to formulate concepts and content, create timelines, and manage the development process of all marketing campaigns. 
• Maintained print budget and manage/process all invoices and budget discrepancies to maintain financial responsibility.
• Partnered with vendors to ensure marketing meets visual requirements, including art and layout review and final approval process before printing.

ASSISTANT MANAGER, NBA STORE  
National Basketball Association, New York, NY | June 2009 - March 2011
• Handled all management duties including employee and customer relations, product inventory, performance management, recruiting, interviewing, and training.
• Managed logistics of NBA Players and League Personnel in-store visits, press conferences and special events. 
• Performed financial analysis, forecasting and business plan development which resulted in departments. achieving and exceeding daily goals by an average of 5% or better. 
 

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

Business Management

Dual Concentration in Marketing and Human Resources 

Binghamton University; cum laude 

STUDY ABROAD STUDENT

University of Westminster

London, England