Tom Matthesen is Head of Business Advisory at Balentine. For many entrepreneurial families, their business is not only their largest asset but integral to their family's identity and legacy. A two-time entrepreneur himself, Tom understands the challenges facing founders. For over three decades, he’s helped entrepreneurs build more valuable businesses and stronger connections between those businesses and the lives, families, and legacies they're working to create.

‍

Tom has built a wealth of perspective in corporate lending, turnaround management, debt and equity advisory, executive leadership and entrepreneurship. In 2004, Tom founded a specialty finance company, his first entrepreneurial venture, which he successfully exited in 2007. After that, he served as CEO of Presidential Financial Corporation, where he led a significant turnaround and eventual sale to MidFirst Bank. Then, he was President of Thrive Farmers, helping lead the company's growth as an enterprise serving nationally recognized brands like Chick-fil-A and Delta Air Lines, before founding Valuation Growth Advisory (VGA), his second entrepreneurial venture. Tom joined Balentine through the firm's acquisition of VGA.

‍

Tom holds an MBA from Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson School of Business and graduated with distinction from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware. He earned his B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder and is a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

‍