Matt Haggman is Executive Vice President, Opportunity Miami at The Beacon Council, a public-private partnership that is the official economic organization for metropolitan Miami. In this role he leads Opportunity Miami, a newly launched community initiative focused on shaping Miami’s economic future.

Haggman is an ardent believer in entrepreneurship as a way to transform communities from the ground up. Previously, as Miami Director at Knight Foundation, he created and built the foundation’s program focused on propelling high-growth entrepreneurs and civic innovators as a way to drive innovation, expand opportunity and stir greater community engagement.

Numerous efforts funded and supported under Haggman’s leadership are now pillars of Miami’s rapidly growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. This includes Endeavor Miami, The Idea Center at Miami Dade College, eMerge Americas, Center for Black Innovation, 500 Startups and Babson’s Women Innovating Now Lab, among many others. Three Harvard Business School case studies have cited the work. In The Miami Herald, Haggman was called “the cornerstone of a renaissance in Miami tech” and “a pioneer in Miami [who] has spearheaded the entrepreneurial movement.”

Prior to joining Knight Foundation, Haggman was an award-winning journalist with The Miami Herald and Daily Business Review. He covered business, government and investigative stories of local and national importance. Haggman's numerous awards include the Gerald Loeb Award, the highest honor in business journalism. In his last two years at The Miami Herald he twice won the President’s Award, honoring the best work in the McClatchy Newspaper chain. In his last year as a reporter, he was named Best Miami Herald Reporter in Miami New Times’ annual “Best of Miami” awards.

With a long-held passion for Miami, Haggman has been active in numerous organizations across the community. He currently is a founding Board Member of Endeavor Miami, a Trustee at New World Symphony and advisor to national non-profit, Right to Start. Several years ago, Haggman joined with friends to launch TEDxMiami, which continues today under a new generation of leaders.

Originally from Cambridge, Mass., Haggman has degrees from Tulane University and Vermont Law School. He and his wife Danet Linares live in Coconut Grove.