Matthew G. Stuller, Senior is the keynote speaker of the 2019 Leaders In Philanthropy Awards presented by Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA) and sponsored by Hancock Whitney Bank, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana.

The 2019 Leaders In Philanthropy Awards will be held on Thursday, November 7, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette.

Seats are $75 per person and $500 per table of eight. Reservations can be made online at www.cfacadiana.org/lip. The deadline to RSVP is October 30.

Matthew is the founder, chief executive officer and global strategist of Stuller, Inc., North America’s largest fine jewelry manufacturer and distributor.

After one semester at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then USL), Matt left school to launch his own business – which was literally started out of the trunk of his car – selling settings (jewelry’s equivalent of nuts and bolts) to jewelers across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Over time, he built the business into an ever-evolving organization that produces 360,000 jewelry-related products that can be shipped overnight. Since its founding, Stuller, Inc. has become one of the largest overnight shippers in the country.

Originally a settings wholesaler and then a manufacturer, the company also offers for sale diamonds, gemstones, finished jewelry, tools, and supplies to satisfy Jewelry Professionals. In addition to its primary facility in Lafayette, Louisiana, Stuller, Inc., and its subsidiaries now employ 1,500 people on three continents. The company also utilizes its sourcing office in Thailand to purchase colored stones. Stuller has one other fine jewelry manufacturing facility in Merida, Mexico.

As a visionary for the jewelry industry, Matt’s foresight to combine technology and artistry directed him to acquire GemVision Corporation, with its preeminent CAD software Matrix. He then challenged the GemVision team to develop a more intuitive jewelry design tool for the retail jeweler, which became “CounterSketch”. Both Matrix and CounterSketch allow jewelers to design almost any piece of jewelry and present a beautiful 3-D rendering of the design for the customer’s approval. The jeweler can simply send an electronic file to Stuller, Inc. has it manufactured in less than five days.

Above and beyond his ability to identify market trends and utilize his keen business acumen, Matt attributes his almost forty-nine plus years of success to his strong customer service dedication– “Service is key.” Today, as it was in the beginning, gold, diamonds, and gemstones are the products, but customer service is the mission!

Matt’s determination, vision, and commitment to excellence has guided not only his businesses, but is demonstrated on all the boards on which he has served both in our community and within the jewelry industry.

Locally, Matt Stuller has been honored with the Times of Acadiana’s “Theodore Schad Award”, which recognizes outstanding leadership and business excellence within the community and was enshrined in that publication’s “Hall of Fame”. The business community also has recognized Stuller’s leadership with honors such as the United States Senate Productivity Award, the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry’s “Lantern Award” and Inc. Magazine’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the Wholesale/Distribution category. For his community service, he has been given the Lafayette Civic Cup; Kiwanis Clubs International’s “Table of Honor” Award; and an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During the Great Financial Crisis, Matt served on board of the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

As an Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting has been an integral part of the formulation of Matt’s ideals and life accomplishments. The Scouting Oath still serves as a guiding principle in his everyday interpersonal relationships.

Philanthropic endeavors now occupy a portion of his time. The Stuller Family Foundation was established over twenty-five years ago to focus on improving education, assisting the needy and sick, and building regional religious capacity.

The Stuller Foundation has done much to better mankind’s community. Matt’s vision and determination have made significant differences to the many charities and organizations to which he has given time and resources. His modesty dictates anonymity in many of his charitable works, and the public rarely knows of his involvement. As he is known to say when individuals seek advice or counsel, “I am a humble steward of God’s gifts.”

Leaders in Philanthropy Awards are presented annually to outstanding individuals or couples from each of the eight parishes of Community Foundation of Acadiana’s primary service area who have made a philanthropic impact in their communities through substantial charitable contributions to or by attracting significant contributions for nonprofits, churches or schools.

Community Foundation of Acadiana is a tax-exempt, donor-centric, entrepreneurial foundation in Lafayette, LA. Its core purpose is building legacies and improving communities by connecting generous people to the causes they care about. CFA is south Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organization benefiting our region, with a particular focus on the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion. CFA is the host of South Louisiana Giving Day, the largest online fundraising event for nonprofit organizations, churches, and schools throughout Acadiana. Learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.