Matthew J. Nordgren '20 Contributor Since 2020

Matthew Jason Nordgren is an ambitious executive, dedicated philanthropist, and accomplished athlete who brings a unique passion for creating strategic alliances. He brings breadth and depth of experience in finance, corporate development, and capital sourcing, as well as in building highly motivated teams of skilled professionals. 

In 2005, Mr. Nordgren received his education at the University of Texas at Austin, while playing football for the Texas Longhorns football team.  As a quarterback on a National Championship winning team, he developed skills that would be carried through his lifetime and core business philosophies. While playing football on scholarship for The University of Texas, he was able to graduate with two degrees in less than four years and was accepted into and pursued a dual master’s degree program at the University of Dallas. After playing professionally briefly with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, Mr. Nordgren went on to earn two additional master’s degrees in both business and sports management from the University of Dallas. He was subsequently featured on the Bravo TV show “Most Eligible Dallas,” while becoming a partner in the family business, NORDCO, Inc., a Dallas-based energy firm.  This is also when he helped to develop, manage and build his first private equity/family office business with a sports and media focus which lead to a career in running various investment vehicles across a broad spectrum of strategies.

Throughout his career, Mr. Nordgren has been appointed to many executive leadership positions at a wide-ranging group of companies and industries. From real estate to sports and entertainment, from hospitality to insurance and financial services, from emerging industries to later stage leveraged buy outs, he is singularly focused on finding synergistic opportunities in early stage private growth rounds that have upside potential.  He is committed to successfully helping manage the overall financial state of his partners businesses and the companies with which he and his partners have interests within.

Mr. Nordgren is currently CEO and Founder of ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management, a venture fund/private equity strategy focused on the ancillary service providing companies in and around the cannabis and hemp industries.  More specifically, on Series A/B type opportunities where proven businesses are looking for growth equity to continue scaling into new markets. He was recently name one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Cannabis Industry” by High Times Magazine and ranked number 3 globally by Business Insider in terms of investment companies focused on the emerging cannabis and hemp sectors. Additionally, he is the founder of Nordco Consulting LLC, a private consulting firm dedicated to the business development of middle market companies with forward-thinking vision. To date, Mr. Nordgren has personally been involved with over $7 billion in transactions and maintains a portfolio of approximately 30 plus companies.

Inspired by his belief that education and athletics can open doors for at-risk youth, Mr. Nordgren launched The Leadership Foundation—an organization committed to giving back to non-profits whose purpose is to empower youth through sports and education. He feels strongly that young people, regardless of their personal circumstances, should have the opportunity for a bright future and the chance to make a positive impact.  Furthermore, he is involved with and contributes to numerous philanthropic causes and remains dedicated to giving back.