Matthew P. Cullen

Chair, Detroit RiverFront Conservancy

President & CEO
Rock Ventures LLC

Matthew P. Cullen is president and chief executive officer of Rock Ventures LLC, an umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance, and integration to Quicken Loans and Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies and investments.

Cullen also has responsibility for Gilbert's "Detroit 2.0" initiative, which is an effort to spark development in the city, and includes Quicken Loans national headquarters' recent move to downtown Detroit. In addition, Cullen is president and chief operating officer of Rock Gaming LLC, a Midwest-based gaming partnership formed with an initial focus to develop first-class casinos in downtown Cincinnati and downtown Cleveland, which will create thousands of jobs and spark urban development in two of Ohio's largest cities.

Cullen is a 29-year veteran of General Motors (GM) where he was general manager of economic development and enterprise services. In addition to coordinating economic development initiatives in the communities in which GM operates, he created a shared services organization and had responsibility for the corporation's vast 450 million sq. ft. global real estate portfolio.

Cullen was chief architect of GM's $500 million acquisition and development of the Renaissance Center as the automaker's global headquarters. In that role, he also oversaw the billion dollar redevelopment of the city's international riverfront and became the founding chairman of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, whose vision is to create more than five miles of continuous walkways along the river.

Cullen also serves as volunteer CEO of the M-1 RAIL light rail line initiative that will be the foundation of a Southeast Michigan regional transit system. The 3.4 mile light rail line along Woodward Avenue will connect Detroit's largest cultural, entertainment and employment centers and drive economic development for a stronger city. It will also be the catalyst for a broader regional transit system that will make the Detroit area more globally competitive by fostering new investment and helping retain and attract top talent.

In addition, Cullen is the chairman of Invest Detroit; vice chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership; serves on the executive committees for Mosaic Youth Theater and the University of Detroit Mercy; and is a Hudson-Webber Foundation board member. He has previously chaired the Metropolitan Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Parade Company and the Metropolitan Detroit YMCA, and retains current executive committee membership with all three organizations. For more than 10 years, Cullen served as the governor-appointed chairman of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Executive Committee.

Cullen earned a degree in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy. He also completed the Senior Executive Program at Harvard University.

A native Detroiter, he resides with his wife Karen and their three sons in metro Detroit.