Like a true Viking, Ron Mathai set sail to pursue his dreams after graduating from Nimitz High School in 2002. Little did he know, his success would bring him full circle and back to the town where it all began.
As a businessman, Irving’s bustling growth and vibrancy made it the perfect place for Ron to grow his enterprise. But while the city’s changing landscape brought ripe opportunity, being in Irving held extra sentimental value for Ron. “When I think of Irving, I think of simpler times,” he recalls while reminiscing about his childhood. From family trips to Blockbuster and the Braum’s on South Story Road to his Vacation Bible School days at Oak View Baptist Church, Ron’s esteem for his hometown runs deep.
As a child, Ron attended Brown Elementary and Lamar Middle School before entering Nimitz Nation. There, he was a top-notch student who lent his talents to the varsity tennis team and student council. By senior year, the AP student earned a spot in the engineering program at the University of Texas at Arlington.
His knack for sales surfaced early on while in college. Outside of class time, Ron worked at RadioShack and eventually became the top sales associate in the entire territory. The experience helped him transition into the banking industry where he spent several years climbing the ladder before getting the entrepreneurial itch to open a business of his own. Now, he leads a successful insurance agency just a few miles north from where he grew up.
“For me, it made sense to build my business here,” he explains. “It’s nice to see how some parts of Irving have stayed the same, while other parts have transformed into something even bigger. It’s nice to invest in a business that really cares about impacting the community.” With every customer he helps, Ron relishes in the opportunity to impact the lives of Irving families, his team and the city so many call home.
Ron has achieved much in his professional life, and there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. However, in all that he has accomplished, he is most grateful for the cheerleaders in his life – his family. “I have an incredible wife and amazing parents who set the bar very high on what perfection is,” he smiles. “Because of them, I’ve been able to obtain my goals.”
Over the years, his goals have morphed into a career that he is deeply proud of – a career and a life he dreamed of as a young kid renting movies from Blockbuster on a Friday night. “The lesson I learned very early on is that nobody has a monopoly on success,” he says. With that, he has one message for the students of Irving. “Dream big. We get one shot at life and that’s it, so make it count.”
