Matt Nickell began his career with Hy-Vee in 2007 as an internal auditor and moved rapidly through leadership in Hy-Vee’s financial operations before being tapped to leady Hy-Vee’s sports marketing efforts in 2019. He was named vice president, sports marketing, in 2021.
Under Matt’s leadership, Hy-Vee has expanded its sports marketing efforts and broken new ground for grocery retailers in terms of sports sponsorships. Hy-Vee has formed a partnership with the Green Bay Packers to help grow Hy-Vee’s brand recognition as they expand their store footprint in Wisconsin, as well as growing additional partnership opportunities with the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs. Matt has helped launch custom products for NFL standouts Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Adam Theilen and Kirk Cousins, as well as a custom cereal package for the Kansas Jayhawks celebrating their 2022 National Championship. Chiefs teammates Mahomes and Kelce also appear together in a series of television spots promoting Hy-Vee’s Aisles Online e-commerce services. Hy-Vee stores in the Kansas City metro and Green Bay also boast extensive “Sports Shops” featuring branded merchandise that Hy-Vee customers rave about.
When Hy-Vee worked with the NTT INDYCAR series to revive the sport of open-wheel racing in the Midwest by hosting the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend in July 2022 at the Iowa Speedway, Matt played a key role in bringing this headline-making weekend to life. The three-day festival included not only two INDYCAR races, but musical performances by the likes of Tim McGraw, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton – plus numerous other celebrity appearances. The weekend earned media mentions in excess of 3,000 pieces that were seen by more than 4 billion readers worldwide.
Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from Drake University, where he played on their Division I soccer team and earned First Team All Missouri Valley Conference and All Midwest Region honors. Matt played for D.C. United of Major League Soccer for two years in Washington, D.C., before returning to the Midwest.
Matt lives in the Des Moines, Iowa, area with his wife Jessica and their two children.