Charlotte-based nonprofit E4E Relief has named its new CEO: Matt Pierce, a former finance executive with the organization who became interim chief last summer.
Pierce replaces Holly Welch Stubbing, who left at the end of May 2024 to become president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust in Philadelphia. Stubbing led E4E Relief for seven years.
Pierce became interim CEO in June. Since then, E4E Relief processed 94,000 claims — a record amount, according to the organization.
E4E Relief is a spinoff entity of Foundation For The Carolinas. The foundation created E4E Relief after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a way for companies to help employees in distress.
The organization provides emergency financial relief on behalf of client companies to affected employees, using funds donated by the companies and employees themselves. Client companies establish custom programs targeting relief from natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados, personal hardship, illness and abuse, among other possibilities. E4E Relief manages and distributes the money on behalf of clients.
Over the past four years, the agency’s client roster has more than doubled to 195 companies, including 55 on the Fortune 500 list.
In calendar year 2024, E4E Relief distributed $69 million, fueled by soaring needs caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, Hurricane Beryl in Houston and Hurricane Milton in Florida, among other disasters. That included $33 million in the last quarter of the year — the highest amount since the Covid-19 year of 2020.
Since 2021, E4E Relief has nearly doubled its staff to 77 employees.
Referring to his six months as interim CEO, Pierce told CBJ, “I think what we realized over that journey is the skill sets that I have are very aligned with where the organization is focusing. To continue to delight customers — when I say customers, I mean our applicants and our program sponsors — it’s the total experience. That really is where we are focusing.”
E4E Relief’s board selected Pierce with involvement from the foundation.
Kevin Roche, a retired investment banker who chairs E4E Relief’s board, said in a prepared statement, “Matt’s exceptional leadership during this challenging period has demonstrated his ability to steer our organization through extraordinary demands. His deep commitment to our mission and dedication to operational excellence makes him the ideal choice to lead E4E Relief into its next phase of growth and impact.”
Since 2020, E4E Relief has received $444 million in donations and distributed $328 million to 7 million people around the world.
Prior to becoming interim CEO, Pierce most recently held the title of managing director of finance and insights at E4E Relief. His financial experience earlier in his career included stints at Grant Thornton, Garretson Resolution Group and Epiq — large firms whose services include accounting, specialized consulting and legal and business services, respectively.
