Matt Jacobson

Matthew C. Jacobson, 48, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Maine & Company. Maine & Company is the only organization dedicated exclusively to business attraction and job creation in Maine. As its chief executive, Matt develops and executes business attraction and expansion strategies with businesses, state and local authorities and other stakeholders. Under Matt's leadership since 2006, Maine & Company has recruited several major companies to Maine including NotifyMD, athenahealth and Boston Financial Data Services. These companies will combine to hire over 1,500 new employees.

Prior to joining Maine & Company, Matt was most recently Assistant Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Canadian National Railways, based in Chicago, Ill. In his various roles at CN from 2000 - 2005, Matt was responsible for International and North America Intermodal sales and marketing, and a revenue budget of $1.1 billion. While at CN, Matt also executed a locomotive repair plan to maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in capital equipment invested in CN's locomotive fleet.

Matt lived in Maine from 1996-2000 while he was employed as President and Chief Operating Officer of the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, headquartered in Auburn, Maine. During his four-year tenure, the railroad tripled its revenue, increasing corporate earnings by 65%. The railroad also attracted 23 new businesses to its line. Matt was featured in The Wall Street Journal, and the St. Lawrence was named North America's best Shortline Railroad by Railway Age Magazine. Additionally, Matt and the Railroad made these accomplishments under the regulatory regimes of two Federal Governments, a Provincial government, three different state governments, and a workforce represented by 5 US-based unions and 5 Canadian-based unions.

From 1991 to 1996, Matt worked for the CSX railroad company in various executive capacities. While at CSX, Matt was stationed in Jacksonville, FL, Pittsburgh, PA, and in Boston, MA (with CSX subsidiary SeaLand Service).

Matt is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (1984) and holds an MBA from Chapman University (1992). He was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, serving in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Matt has over 3,000 hours of flight time, primarily in command of the C-130 Hercules. In addition to being an aircraft commander, he was an instructor and evaluator pilot. Jacobson received an honorable discharge from active duty in April 1991. From 1991-1993 he served in the Air Force active reserve. He received an honorable discharge from reserve duty in March 2000.

When it came time to choose a permanent home with his family, Matt returned to Maine. He is married to Dr. Kemedy Kathryn McQuillen. Matt and Kate were married in Boothbay Harbor. A graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Vermont Medical School, Dr. McQuillen is an emergency room physician at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine. Matt and Kate reside in Cumberland and have two children, Hank and Maggie. Jacobson is Roman Catholic.

Jacobson serves on the Board of Trustees of The Park Danforth, the Board of Directors of the Portland Community Chamber and the Maine Biotech Association, and the Board of Advisors of Catch a Piece of Maine and The Maine Heritage Policy Center. He formerly served on the board of Halterm Limited.