Matthew Geekie

Matthew W. Geekie is senior vice president, secretary and general counsel at Graybar, an employee-owned FORTUNE 500 distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products. Over the course of his 35-year career, Matt has developed broad based experience in management, strategic planning, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, risk management and human resources. His extensive educational background, proven leadership skills and strategic vision enable him to achieve optimal business results. Matt began his career in 1987 as a trial attorney defending product liability lawsuits. He took his first in-house positon with Siegel-Robert, Inc., a family-owned, tier-one supplier to the automotive industry in 1992. While at Siegel-Robert, Matt expanded his skill sets to include mergers and acquisitions, as well as labor and employment. Returning to private practice in 1997 at Peper Martin, Matt built on his mergers and acquisitions experience, began securities work and continued advising clients in the areas of employment and labor relations. In 2000, Matt moved to Emerson Electric as associate general counsel for the Emerson Process Management group of companies. At Emerson, he continued to hone his skills, while taking on responsibilities in corporate governance, export and import compliance, and international law. In 2005, Matt became general counsel and secretary of a Berkshire Hathaway company, XTRA Lease, where he became involved in logistics and transportation. Graybar hired Matt as its Associate General Counsel in February 2008 with the intent of his succeeding to his current role, which occurred within six months of his hire. In August of 2008, Matt was elected to Graybar’s Board of Directors and named Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. He sits on Graybar’s Executive, Audit, Compensation, Contributions, Disclosure, Finance, Employees’ Benefits and Information Technologies committees. In addition, Matt is Chairman of the Board of Graybar’s Canadian subsidiary. Matt holds an undergraduate degree in history and a Juris Doctor, both from Saint Louis University. He has attended executive education and board training at Harvard Business Updated: 5/24 School, the University of Chicago, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors of CK Power, a private company that is a leading manufacturer of power units and power generation solutions, as well as the St. Louis/Chicago Advisory Board of FM Global, a global insurer of commercial real estate. Matt is a past president of the Saint Louis Zoo Association Board of Directors, currently sitting on its Government Relations, Investment and Long-Range Plan Implementation Committees, as well as being a Member of the Zoo’s Marlin Perkins Society. He is also past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oasis Institute, a current board member as well as a member of its Executive, Finance and Advancement committees. In addition, Matt is past chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Community Foundation. He is also a member of the Greater St. Louis Inc. Government Relations Council, a member of Vistage Worldwide, Inc. and a former president of the Missouri Law Institute. Throughout his career Matt has written or spoken on various topics including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management. Matt’s experience, business achievements and community involvement helped him earn several recognitions, including OnCon Icon Top 50 Corporate Counsel 2021 and 2023, Missouri Lawyer’s Media In-House Counsel Award 2017, and the St. Louis Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Award for Innovation 2015. In addition, with Matt’s stewardship, Graybar has been recognized for its excellence in corporate governance by Corporate Secretary Magazine for Best Overall Corporate Governance for a Private Company in 2015, 2016, and 2018 and by Private Company Director Magazine in 2019 in the category of Fiduciary Board/Closely Held or Employee-Owned companies.