Karsten learned leadership and human resources from scratch. After his officer career, he started at a globally active, owner-managed medium-sized company specializing in medical technology (Biotronik). Later, he became a member of the management team in a multinational top ten healthcare company (Sanofi) and was responsible for Human Resources in 3 countries, at 9 locations for a total of more than 2,000 employees. Since 2013, Karsten Matthes has been established as a management and HR consultant.

Karsten studied education with a focus on human resources and psychology at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. He underwent demanding leadership programs at a young age, first as part of his officer training and later with a leading global healthcare group.