Eric Mathews Co-Owner at Maple Leaf Awning and Canvas

Eric is a true leader with passion to help others. He is very giving and extremely professional. He is visionary leader with heart of gold for his people.

Extremely innovative, energetic, and fun to work with.

Eric has a talent for developing nascent businesses and technologies. He understands the research and innovation process, and has amazing business acumen.

Eric is enthusiastic about connecting Lantana Projects with local businesses and civic organizations that understand the vital role that the cultural arts play in a community's vibrancy. Further, he has helped us align our principles and activities with organizations that showcase Memphis' merits, and work to make Memphis a magnet for creative talent.

But Eric does more than that - he is pro actively hands-on wherever it is needed, even when that means painting a wall or installing lights. Any team would be lucky to have Eric as a member!

Eric Matthews is a creative, "out-of-the-box" thinker who solves business problems. I value his opinion and remember fondly our association together a few years ago and the results we produced. He does outstanding work and is a great leader.

Eric is an excellent conceptual thinker and idea man, while at the same time able to create a plan of action and get things done. He is very strategic in his thinking, and remains focused on the objective, doing his best to keep others focused as well. He is sensitive to the nuances of collaboration between large organizations, and is skilled at bringing them together. He does not steal the limelight and in fact gives too much credit and acclaim to others, softselling his own role. He is a great guy to have on your team.

Eric is an excellent individual; intelligent, focused, and reliable.

I had the fortune to meet him at Wired NextFest 2005 in Chicago where he was managing the FedEx Institute of Technology exhibit showcasing an advanced robot. He saw my work also and from there we kept in contact.

Through his influence at FIT and being a board member of the Memphis arts foundation Lantana Arts, Eric established a new artist-in-residence role that partnered the two groups. I was honored to be the first resident artist and connected with Eric on a daily basis while in Memphis.

Eric is straight talking and dares to think of bold ideas. It was through his guidance that I was able to establish my firm James Clar + Associates.

He's a positive thinker who strives to bring out the potential in people. He comes at the highest recommendation.

As a student and colleague, Eric distinguished himself as a "can do" person, with a great ability to see the big picture as well as appreciate and digest a large number of details. Very innovative guy, and a good team player.

Eric is a great resource for thinking through ideas, company formation, and strategy. His expertise has helped many up and coming entrepreneurs sort through starting up and finding the right circles to promote your idea.

Eric was the go-to manager at FIT while I served there as CEO in Residence. Two examples: Eric put together the business plan competition for FIT and headed up FIT's artist-in-residence program in partnership with the Lantana group. He also is highly detail oriented and tech savvy.