Downtown Calgary carries the mark of Ron Mathison. He chairs MATCO Investments Ltd., a private investment holding company with interests in oil and gas, oilfield services, real estate, investment management and merchant banking. In 2023 the Southern Alberta Business Hall of Fame inducted him, which put a builder of companies and city blocks among the people it honours.
MATCO is a holding company founded in 1988
MATCO is based in Calgary. According to his Junior Achievement Southern Alberta laureate profile, Mathison co-founded three oilfield services companies, Calfrac Well Services Ltd., Western Energy Services Corp. and Echo Seismic Ltd., and chairs the board of each. MATCO’s portfolio leans toward energy and stays active in Calgary real estate.
Eighth Avenue Place took a full downtown block
Mathison acquired a full city block and led the development of Eighth Avenue Place, a two-tower office complex of about 1.9 million square feet certified LEED Platinum. MATCO is still a co-owner, and he has chaired the co-ownership group since the project began.
His credentials run through accounting and finance
Mathison holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Manitoba and Chartered Professional Accountant designations in Alberta and Manitoba, along with Chartered Business Valuator and Chartered Financial Analyst credentials. He became a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants in June 2015 and entered the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame in 2016. He belongs to the Business Council of Canada, the Business Council of Alberta and the C.D. Howe Institute, and sits on the board of the Fraser Institute.
He funds mental health research and a business school
At the University of Calgary, Mathison founded and chairs the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and he chairs the institute’s Endowment Board. In 2018 he made the lead gift toward a new home for the Haskayne School of Business. The building opened in November 2022 as Mathison Hall.
The centre and the hall are the parts of his record that outlast any single deal. A mental health research centre gets far less public attention than the energy transactions behind the money, and a named building is a commitment that stays put. The Hall of Fame looks for wealth reinvested in the region that produced it, and the centre and the hall are where Mathison’s shows.
