About

‘Above all else, Matt is universally well-liked and respected,’ AJ Kess of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP says of Matthew Furman. ‘He is super star to work with’. The Travelers Company has shifted from a domestic to a strongly international focus. Furman handled 2013’s $1.1bn acquisition of Canadian company Dominion, Travelers’ largest transaction in almost a decade in 2013. ‘Travelers has always been exceptionally good at the role of lawyers,’ Matthew Furman says. ‘We sell heavily regulated contracts so my input is inherently important, but our legal team is seen as problem solvers – a group that helps people do their jobs’. Furman leads a large team of lawyers and non-lawyers across legal and corporate governance. ‘He is open-minded and has a rare style of consensus-building,’ Kess says. Furman has also been active in training and development within the team, as well as increasing collaboration and communication, with measures such as implementing interdisciplinary working groups. ‘The highlight of my job has been building and leading a team of outstanding professionals,’ he says. On the subject of outside counsel, Furman highlights the need to act in partnership with clients. ‘The best of our outside lawyers think proactively and act and feel like they have a significant stake in our success’. Formerly president of the Society of Corporate Counsel’s New York Chapter, Furman is a Legal Aid Society director and a New York Stock Exchanges Commission on Corporate Governance member. He has also taught international finance at Cardozo Law School as an adjunct professor.