Posted on October 3, 2023 by Rebekah Alegria
Growing up just 20 miles from campus in Boerne, Matthew Reynolds ,’12, MBA ’16 originally had his sights set on an education and career in mechanical engineering at another university.
He’d always enjoyed helping his father restore cars and motorcycles, but he quickly realized that his passions did not align with engineering and chose to follow in his brother’s Roadrunner footsteps and joined the Embrey Real Estate Finance and Development program at the UTSA Carlos Alvarez College of Business.
“I always had an interest in the built environment and seeing the progressions and development from the ground up. There may be a parallel between helping my dad restore his old cars and bringing them back to life and seeing the development of raw land. This was also around the time of the subprime mortgage crisis, and I wanted to learn about the cause of a severe crisis of that magnitude.” he said.
Throughout his collegiate journey, Reynolds sought mentorship from his older brother, Alex, who helped guide him through what classes to take, which professors to choose and more. Hoping to get his big break upon graduation Reynolds sought out career advice from Laura Gilliland , assistant director of the college’s Embrey Real Estate Finance and Development Program. From the suggestion of Gilliland, Reynolds applied for an internship with Worth & Associates, one of South Texas’ oldest and most successful commercial real estate leasing, development, investment, and brokerage firms.
What started out as an internship soon turned into a full-time position after only two months. Nearly 10 years later, Reynolds remained at Worth & Associates and was recently named chief financial officer of the company.
“We all aspired to climb the corporate ladder, become an entrepreneur, or start a business. As an intern I wanted to be a sponge, soak up information and gain experience in the industry,” he said. “I have always been receptive to new responsibilities, roles, tasks, and projects, which has helped me throughout my career.”
Reynolds began his career as an investment analyst preparing financial schedules, projections and models, helping create loan packages, performing market research, and assisting the vice president of finance. As a result of his hard work and effort, Reynolds was promoted to vice president of asset management in 2018 and focused on the short- and long-term goals of the properties as well as the company’s portfolio. This new role as CFO has brought on new responsibilities for Reynolds. He is now in charge of overseeing the financial activities of the entire company and working with owner Bob L. Worth Jr. , and executives Clint Worth and Jordan Worth Arriaga on the company’s strategy and goals. Reynolds looks forward to keeping the company focused on their long-term goals and keeping the firm’s growth trajectory pointed upward.
“I am grateful and honored for the opportunity to continue to grow together with the company,” he said.
Wanting to give back to the program, Reynolds has stayed active by supervising multiple interns, guest lecturing and advising students on their capstone projects.
Reflecting on his time as a student in the program, Reynolds appreciated the industry professionals who would take the time out of their busy days to volunteer and spend time with the real estate students.
“I appreciated this as a student and as an alumnus I have helped develop our internship program at Worth & Associates as a result. The experience made an impact on me as a student, and I enjoy the chance to return the favor,” concluded Reynolds.
— Rebekah Alegria
