Mr. Harris began his career as a consultant at Bain &
Company, Boston, in 1994. In 1995, he signed on as an associate with Bain
Capital. At Bain Capital, Harris' most notable transactions included the
$1.1 billion purchase and subsequent sale of a credit-reporting agency,
and the $90 million purchase of a medical products distributor.
Harris left Bain Capital in 1997 to become the founding
managing director of The Berkshires Capital Investors, a venture capital
fund chartered to invest in companies in Berkshire County. Under Harris'
leadership, BCI's first fund of $5 million invested in 12 companies, with
7 successful exits to date. The BCI organization, now a Village Ventures
affiliate, has gone on to raise an additional $60 million.
At BCI, Harris noted that a number of markets boast the
attributes of Berkshire County, namely access to intellectual capital, a
high quality of life, and a low cost of doing business. However, these regional
niches are traditionally underserved by private equity firms. Village Ventures
was created to benefit from the imbalance between supply of and demand for
venture capital in these markets.
Harris graduated from Williams College in 1994, and now
lives in Williamstown, MA. He is active in the business community of Williamstown
and Berkshire County, and is involved in many civic organizations. He has
served as Chair of Mass Competitive Council for Berkshire County, an economic
development initiative sponsored by the governor of Massachusetts, and serves
as a Board Member of the John Adams Innovation Institute and a member of
the Renewable Energy Industry Support Advisory Board. Matt is a Trustee
for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, he is the Vice President
of the Board of the Williamstown Theatre Festival and is a founding Board
Member and Treasurer of Camp Starfish, a camp for troubled and disadvantaged
youth outside Boston, MA. Matt also sits on the corporate boards of Skillview
Technologies, Inc, Mindbranch, Inc, FullTurn Entertainment, Inc and BlueTarp,
Inc. |