Taro Capital Partners’ Principal, Matthew Walsh, possesses a multidisciplinary background of personal and professional experience that will make him a highly qualified small business operator. Raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Matthew’s first work experience began at the age of fourteen in his family’s small business, where his mother and father continue to design and fabricate custom exhibits for museums and universities after more than 45 years. For the past two decades, Matthew has worked in virtually every role at the company in part-time and full-time positions, from carpenter and welder to CNC-router operator, as well as client facing front-office roles in sales and business development.

Matthew attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a Division 1 ice hockey player and Honor’s Graduate. Commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Army, he served meritoriously for six years before exiting as a Ranger-qualified Infantry Captain. During his service, Matthew was responsible for leading infantry units ranging from a 46-soldier platoon to a 200-soldier headquarters company. His last assignment was with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), where he deployed to the Middle East with the nation’s most elite Special Mission Units to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Additional deployments included Thailand, Philippines, and South Korea.

Upon completing his military service, Matthew directed the winning political campaign of Massachusetts State Senator John Cronin, a first-time candidate and fellow West Point alumnus and combat veteran. As the campaign manager, he successfully built a cohesive team of over 100 members in under six months, and managed the daily operations of the candidate, full-time staff, interns, advisors, community leaders, and grassroots volunteers.

Most recently, Matthew worked as a summer associate with Riviera Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on search fund investments. During his tenure with Riviera, Matthew was able to immerse himself in the search fund model with an experienced investment team. Working alongside General Partner and mentor Adam Borcz, Matthew assisted with investment due diligence, financial modeling, and in-depth industry analyses.

Matthew graduated from The Wharton School of Business, where he earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance. While attending Wharton, Matthew received the Perlman Fellowship, awarded to second year students pursuing entrepreneurship immediately after graduation.