Water4 board of directors announce the appointment of Matt Hangen as the organization’s managing director and chief operating officer.
As managing director, Hangen will provide leadership to stateside staff and nearly 400 Water4-trained field partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America in support of the organization’s work to train and equip missional entrepreneurs to end their own water crisis. Hangen formerly directed implementation and operations efforts for Water4.
Richard Greenly, Water4 co-founder and chairman of the board, is thrilled. “We are so pleased to have Matt in his new role as managing director. In addition to the superb job he’s performed as chief operating officer, Matt will now help the entire organization operate at the high proficiency level to which we have become accustomed,” he says. “Matt’s motivation in life to follow Jesus is the hallmark of his good leadership.”
Hangen and his wife Grace connected with Water4 while missionaries in West Africa from 2008-2013. After witnessing the critical need for clean water in the communities they served, the Hangens discovered Water4 while searching for a better way to accomplish manual well drilling. Water4 shared their desire to find sustainable solutions out of a love for God and neighbor, making it a perfect fit.
When ongoing medical treatments required the Hangens’ relocation to the U.S., Water4 was happy to gain someone with Hangen’s field experience and ability to train new drill teams throughout the world. Since then, his role with the organization has steadily grown from field implementation to operations, and now managing director.
“Seven years ago when I started working with Water4 in West Africa I couldn’t imagine I’d be managing director today,” says Hangen. “Developing their businesses from the ground up, it’s an amazing honor to lead the cause of those in Africa I’ve worked with in the trenches. I eat, breathe, sleep and dream Water4, so being at the helm of such a beautiful ship is a dream come true. I challenge you to find something more exciting than seeing God eradicate the world’s water crisis through the very people who suffer from it.”
Hangen holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biblical theology and missiology and is experienced in business management, ministry and missions.
