Matthews Asia Co-Founder Mark Headley Returns as Executive Chairman

/EIN News/ -- SAN FRANCISCO, April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matthews Asia today announced that co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mark Headley, has been appointed Executive Chairman and will assume the CEO responsibilities. Mark, who will continue to serve on the Matthews Asia Board of Directors and as the newly appointed Chairman and interim CEO, succeeds Cooper Abbott, who left the firm on April 7, 2025.

Mark Headley brings his extensive investment and operational leadership back to the firm he co-founded with Paul Matthews in 1995. During his long tenure at the firm, he held both CEO and CIO roles as well as being a Portfolio Manager on a range of mutual funds. Under Mark’s leadership, he helped guide the firm through a significant period of growth as well as managing the firm during challenging periods in financial markets that included the Global Financial Crisis in 2007.

Over his two decades at Matthews, and in partnership with Paul Matthews, Mark helped lead the evolution and growth of the firm to become a leading and highly regarded Emerging Market investment manager for Asia-focused investments. With a strong commitment to active management and fundamental research, he helped the firm develop its investment approach and build a deep bench of investment talent. The firm’s focus on investments in Asia and Emerging Markets created a unique value proposition which remains in place today along with a deeply embedded client-centric culture.

Paul Matthews, founder, said, “I am extremely pleased that Mark has been appointed Executive Chairman of the firm we founded together over 30 years ago. During Mark’s time at Matthews, the success of this firm had been driven by his deep understanding of Asia’s markets and an unwavering focus on exceeding our clients’ expectations. I am confident that Mark is the right person to lead the company. As a former CEO and Portfolio Manager of Matthews, he has the proven strategic and operational leadership experience that will help the firm navigate through these challenging markets and set the firm onto a path towards its next period of growth and innovation.”

Mark Headley, Executive Chairman, said, “I am delighted to be rejoining Matthews. I am particularly excited to work closely with Sean Taylor, CIO, and a talented group of experienced professionals at the firm. I am confident that we can deliver long-term growth opportunities for our clients, employees and shareholders.”

About Matthews Asia

Matthews is an independent, privately owned investment manager founded in 1991 on a belief that Global Emerging Markets offer exceptional long-term growth potential. As a trusted and experienced investor, Matthews takes a long-term, active, fundamental investment approach to construct highly differentiated portfolios that focus on Emerging Markets, Asia and China. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally in vehicles that include SMAs, mutual funds and active ETFs. For more information about Matthews, please visit www.matthewsasia.com.

Media Contact in the U.S.:
Dukas Linden PR
Sarah Lazarus/Christian Healey
+1 617-335-7823/+ 1 781-439-2500
sarah@dlpr.com/christian@dlpr.com

Media Contact in Europe/Asia:
Mark Lidstone
Matthews Asia
mark.lidstone@matthewsasia.com

Disclosure
This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not, in any way, constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or product mentioned herein. Investing in international and emerging markets may involve additional risks, such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation.
        
Matthews Asia is the brand for Matthews International Capital Management, LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.