Matt Panik is the chief advocacy officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. He works with investors and elected officials to advance the public policy goals of the CLT Alliance.
Matt oversees the advocacy work of the CLT Alliance at the local, state, and federal levels. Matt started the Advocate newsletter, which keeps investors apprised of the CLT Alliance’s advocacy actions in the region and throughout the Carolinas. Additionally, he leads the CLT Alliance Advocacy Committee, comprised of government affairs professionals from the Charlotte Region.
Matt has played an important role in the successful passage of local ballot measures in recent years. In 2022 and 2024, three separate bonds for transportation, housing, and neighborhood improvements in the city of Charlotte all received overwhelming support from voters. In 2023, a North Carolina record $2.5 billion bond for schools received 63% support. He led the campaign in 2025 to secure voter support for a 1% sales tax to fund $20 billion in transportation and transit projects over 30 years.
Matt started his career in Missouri, serving as chief of staff to a Missouri state senator and then the state treasurer. He also worked as the vice president of government affairs at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. At the Chamber, he established and ran the Missouri Chamber Political Institute, helping the Chamber and its members better engage in state politics.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Dayton and a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law. He lives in Huntersville with his wife and two children.
