As an experienced attorney with strong business acumen, Matt Russotti brings high-level expertise in monetizing intellectual property, protecting and maximizing brand value and strategically positioning brands in the market.

Matt has practiced law as a corporate and intellectual property attorney specializing in the licensing of intellectual property and consummation of deals involving intellectual property assets. Matt has advised Fortune 500, mid-tier and growth companies alike on their brand creation and protection efforts having led multidisciplinary teams on the development, management and growth of their brands.

Matt began his career in Buenos Aires, Argentina as a foreign associate at Estudio Beccar Varela, one of Latin America’s premier law firms. There, Matt worked with the corporate, private equity and intellectual property teams in their representation of domestic and foreign businesses on cross-border acquisitions, investments and strategic transactions with a particular focus on businesses buying, selling or otherwise leveraging intellectual property assets.

After developing his corporate and intellectual practice, Matt returned to the US to open the New York of Wolfe-SBMC, an intellectual property law firm specializing in intellectual property sale, purchase and licensing as well as intellectual property-related corporate deal work.

Additionally, Matt led the formation of Wolfe Domain, a digital strategy and brand protection advisory firm. As the Director of Business Development and project management lead for the firm, Matt led teams developing online business and brand protection strategies, establishing digital strategic partnerships and implementing strategic initiatives.

Matt received his BA from Wesleyan University and his JD from Brooklyn Law School. Matt is also a licensed attorney, has completed negotiation training from Harvard Law School and is a Certified Licensing Professional.

Having spent his entire career in the fashion and apparel industry in various strategic, advisory and planning roles, Matt Kaden brings high-level financial, operational and merchandising expertise. Matt particularly enjoys and excels at strategy formulation, qualitative and quantitative analyses and deal sourcing on behalf of apparel, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home furnishings and related businesses.

Matt spent the first seven years of his career in finance, planning, operations and strategy roles at Macy’s, Kellwood Company and The Jones Group. Working full-time while pursuing his MBA, Matt applied his studies directly to the apparel industry, focusing on strategic management within this highly dynamic landscape.

Upon completing his MBA in 2007, Matt became a Director at Net Worth Solutions, a boutique retail and consumer product-focused mergers & acquisitions and strategic advisory firm. At Net Worth, Matt was responsible for leading client assignments from initial marketing efforts through to closing of strategic partnerships, business exits and licensing transactions.

Matt received his BS in Marketing from The Pennsylvania State University and MBA from CUNY Baruch's Zicklin School of Business.

With a broad product background and unsurpassed contacts in the retail and wholesale communities, John has joined MATTER as Director.

John has over 30 years of apparel industry experience as a senior manager in prominent wholesale and retail corporations. In his 19-year retail career at Woodward & Lothrop and Famous Barr, he rose from buyer to divisional merchandise manager and then to general merchandise manager, before becoming a corporate officer.

In 1991, John joined the Kellwood Company and served in positions of increasing responsibility until he became the Senior Vice President of Merchandising. As a corporate officer of a public corporation, his responsibilities covered most strategic components, including brand development, acquisition due diligence and identifying fashion trends. While at Kellwood, John's extensive retail background proved invaluable. In 2003, John became president of Kellwood's largest division, the Sag Harbor Group.