A lot of leaders struggle to focus. David sits down with Matt Hangen, CEO of Water4 to talk about how he got his focus (and his life back.) This conversation includes Matt's silent retreat in a Yurt in Colorado, partnering with communities to create sustainable water solutions in Africa, overcoming a disease that almost killed him, getting hit by a car, becoming an Iron Man, and how Matt has left the digital screens behind (almost completely) to go analog. Listen in!
Show Notes
CONNECT WITH MATT HANGEN
- Watch Matt Hangen's TED Talk here.
- Follow Matt Hangen on LinkedIn here.
- Follow Matt on Instagram here.
- Learn more about Water4 here.
MODERN LEADERSHIP
- Sign up for Modern Leadership here.
CONNECT WITH DAVID SKIDMORE
ABOUT MATT HANGEN
Matt Hangen started working with Water4 in 2010 while living in and starting water businesses as a missionary in West Africa. Already training well drillers and building equipment, Matt and his wife Grace linked up with Water4 after searching for a better way. Water4 shared their desire to find sustainable solutions and to do so out of a love for God and neighbor, so it was a perfect fit.
Matt was initially hired to design what would become Water4’s sustainability model by training on drilling technologies and selecting, mentoring, and scaling local partner businesses. As CEO of Water4, he now has the pleasure of ensuring that vision is carried out through the local leaders he so intimately knows. Matt’s vision is to end the need for charity by empowering entrepreneurs to solve the problem, and coming alongside them to achieve their potential. He doesn’t see Africa as a problem to be solved, but rather a continent of potential and endless possibility.
Matt is married to his best friend Grace and they live in rural Oklahoma with their two beautiful daughters. Matt is a triathlete, ultramarathoner, lifelong reader, and lover of the outdoors.