A retired executive with ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Matt Aguiar (MS M’80) values the graduate education he received at Purdue. Now, the proud Boiler-maker is paying it forward, funding a named space in the Mitch Daniels School of Business with his wife, Joyce.
Matt earned a degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before studying industrial management
at Purdue. “I had great professors, including Bill Lewellen in finance,” Matt says. “I enjoyed taking courses with him as well as Arnie Cooper in accounting. I never thought I would like accounting, and I even ended up marrying an accountant.”
Joyce earned her accounting degree from the University of Nebraska and met her future husband when the two worked for ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas. “There were so many young people employed there at the time, and we all interacted,” Joyce says.
“I was recruited by ExxonMobil directly out of Purdue as a financial analyst and enjoyed a pretty diverse career,” Matt says. “I ended up going back into technical work within manufacturing and eventually took on a myriad of business assignments, including senior management roles.” This included professional posts within the U.S. and abroad. Matt and Joyce spent nearly 10 years living in Singapore.
Last fall, Matt spoke at the Executive Forum, sharing his professional experiences with Purdue business undergraduates. During his visit, he was struck by how much the university had evolved over the past 40 years. This, in turn, sparked his desire to support the reimagined Daniels School of Business and its future facilities by naming a yet-to-be-identified space within the building.
“I think the business school and its academic building are going to be impressive, and I thought it would be great to leave a legacy at Purdue,” Matt says.
Over the years, he has also enjoyed connecting with future business leaders by serving as a mentor, whether by helping Purdue students fine-tune their interviewing skills or fielding their questions regarding his career path. “I’ve stayed in touch with some of them through LinkedIn and enjoy seeing how they’ve developed,” he says. “It’s been extremely gratifying.”
Matt and Joyce reside just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. They are the proud parents of three grown children: Rachel, Nathan, and Sean.
Construction on the Daniels School building is scheduled to begin this year, with occupancy expected in fall 2027. The facility will sit on the current site of the Krannert Center for Executive Education and Research and the Wesley Foundation building.
