Childhood
Born
December
8, 1980
Matthew grew up in Trenton, Ontario, on a cozy cul-de-sac called Applewood Court. His father built the family home and his cousins lived on the same street. Everyone grew up together, celebrating birthdays and holidays as a clan.
athletics
Matthew was an athlete from an early age. At four years old, he began to play soccer and quickly distinguished himself as a forward, playing (and scoring) against kids older than him. Later in life came golf, skiing, snowboarding, jiu-jitsu, race-car driving, and more.
academics
Even before post-secondary, Matthew distinguished himself at school. He won the Governor General’s Award in Grade 13 for the highest marks in his graduating year, and participated in SHAD Valley, a summer program for high-achieving students from around the world.
At the young age of 17, Matthew moved away from home to the University of Toronto, where he studied computer engineering and lived with his brother, George, in a condo on Bay Street.
As an engineering student, Matthew performed as brilliantly as ever, while involving himself in campus culture. He was the chief atilliator for the school cannon, the official mascot of the engineering program at U of T.
entrepreneur
2003
Torchmobile
Matthew always had a strong entrepreneurial drive. Beginning in university, Matthew co-founded a consulting company with his brother George. This was only to be their first venture together — later, the two brothers created Torch Mobile, a software development company that developed one of the first ever web browsers.
2013
Founded
Vleepo
The product caught the attention of executives at Blackberry, which acquired the company in 2009. He joined Blackberry after the sale and continued to act as the public face of the browser team.
But Matthew never rested on his laurels, and after he left Blackberry in 2013, he founded Vleepo.
And through all of his business work, he always remembered to give back to charity, working for causes such as a cure to breast cancer.
Greece
Matthew’s Greek heritage was very important to him. He fell in love with the country after a lifetime of family vacations, and as a teenager, he taught himself Greek. He was a quick study of the language, and on his return visits to Greece, he made many close friends.
He loved the sun, the food, the entertainment — he learned to play the Bouzouki and performed traditional dances with his father. After he graduated from university, he returned to Athens to continue his studies.