About
Charles Matz is a University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School graduate affiliated with Merton and St Hugh’s Colleges. His two degrees, within the Social Science Department, include studies in strategy and innovation practices and the management of major programmes. In addition to his academic profile, he is the executive director of a multi-business unit holding company with an associated family office invested in art, culture, media, and technology. He joins the succession practices of the firm’s accelerator to new engineering, built environment, planning, logistics, and manufacturing ventures. His expertise extends into geospatial, manufacturing, and multi-media systems industries, with management platforms for virtual production.
In 2022, he was appointed Strategic Advisor to the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division of the University of Oxford—AWS (Amazon Web Services), Human-Machine Collaboration’s testbed portfolio. And as the Investment Development Consultant for organisational alignments and innovation programmes of the same division’s Investment Pillar of the Educational-Creative Technologies Portfolio.
His research is centred on the characteristics of exchange between project stakeholders who utilise spatial-temporal visual artefacts. The work includes studying the complex adaptive systems they reside in, the sensemaking which may be at work, and the phenomenological implications they engender within Organisation Theory.
Charles’ current focus is on the role of the visual in the management and control systems of transformative infrastructure works. And where projects with embedded heritage programmes, incorporate emerging digital humanities practices.
Research areas and expertise:
Organisation Theory, Sensemaking, and Phenomenology; Geospatial Data, Engineering, Architecture, Media, and the management of large, complex programmes of major infrastructure projects.
Career Highlights:
Executive director and business strategist of the multi-business-unit holding company specialising in ideating, forming, and financing new ventures.
At Princeton University Mr. Matz has participated in over twenty major renovations and new works over a period of fifteen years including renovations at the University’s Engineering Quadrangle; where projects have included the Graduate Student Center and Dean Executive Wing, lecture halls and laboratories.
Designer and Architect of multiple athletic facility works at the same campus: Jadwin Gymnasium Renovations of the spectator areas, The Squash and Fencing Center, The Wrestling Facility, The Stephens Athlete Fitness Center and the historic Crew Team Boathouse Renovation on Lake Carnegie. Other educational facility works include Master Planning efforts and renovations at Williams College, Massachusetts, The City University of New York’s Baruch and John Jay Colleges and New Jersey City University.
International commercial and media clients include The New York Stock Exchange, SONY and its subsidiaries; with over 150 broadcast media production and live stage and music projects, J. Walter Thompson Advertising – Middle East, Mobil Research and Development Corporation, Viacom and Disney.
Development of manufacturing and graphic brand strategies, participation in construction planning of global corporate project initiatives, including environmental graphics efforts. Applying his multidisciplinary approach to the field of hospitality and retail design, Mr. Matz authored the Master Plan / Renewal Strategy for the renovation and new branding effort at the private university clubs, The Princeton and Columbia Clubs of New York.
He has been the recipient of the Ciné Golden Eagle Award for Best Corporate Film for “The New York Stock Exchange: A View From the Floor” – Production Design and Art Direction. He received the International Music Television Award – Production Design and Art Direction, for the Turkish National Network. Other award efforts have included fabrication and object design for Surface Magazine’s Avantguardian, PDN/PIX Digital Imaging and the Pilsner Urquell for International Photography.
Mr. Matz was raised in Venice Italy and New York City and attended university in New York, London, and Oxford
Research Interests
Organisation Theory, Sensemaking, Phenomenology; Geospatial, Engineering, Architecture, Media, and the management of large, complex programmes of major infrastructure projects.
Areas of Interest for Doctoral Supervision
Organisation Theory, sensemaking, phenomenology; geospatial and the management of large, complex programmes of major infrastructure projects, digital humanities, real-time spatial-temporal data