Dan Gilbert

Dan Gilbert is Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s second largest mortgage lender. He is also Founder and Chairman of Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity for his portfolio of business and real estate investments, and majority owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. Rock Ventures and its more than 110 affiliated companies across the country employ more than 25,000 team members. Since 2013, Detroit-based Quicken Loans closed $200 billion in home loan volume across all 50 states, and in 2015, for the sixth consecutive year, earned J.D. Power’s highest rating for customer satisfaction among all U.S. home loan lenders. Quicken Loans is No. 1 on Computerworld magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work in IT” and has been named one of FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for 12 consecutive years. Dan is also a shareholder in several sports-related consumer and technology businesses, including a leading wall graphics company (Fathead), electronic ticketing company (Flash Seats) and innovative sports equipment helmet maker (Xenith). In 2008, Dan acquired One Reverse Mortgage. The company specializes in products that allow homeowners, 62 years and older, the opportunity to convert some of the equity in their homes into tax-free money. One Reverse Mortgage is now the largest retail reverse mortgage lender in the country. Dan began moving his Family of Companies to Detroit’s central business district in 2010 in an effort to help lead the transformation of a great American city. In January 2010, Dan co-founded Bedrock Real Estate Services, a full-service real estate firm specializing in purchasing, leasing, financing, developing and managing commercial space based in downtown Detroit. Since then, he has invested more than $1.8 billion to purchase and renovate more than 80 commercial properties accounting for more than 13 million square feet in the city’s urban core. Thousands of jobs have been created, and today more than 15,000 Rock Ventures team members work in downtown Detroit. Dan founded Rock Gaming, a developer and owner of unique urban casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Baltimore. The company acquired Detroit’s Greektown Casino-Hotel in April 2013. In March 2013, Rock Ventures, in collaboration with the Downtown Detroit Partnership and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, unveiled and implemented a visionary placemaking and retail plan centered on creating activity and vibrant, distinct destinations to draw people to the region using a multifaceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Dan is a Founder and Principal of Detroit Venture Partners (DVP), a venture capital firm that funds startup and early-stage technology companies in Detroit. He is also a Founding Partner of Detroit-based private equity group Rockbridge Growth Equity LLC, which invests in growing businesses in the financial services, Internet technology, consumer-direct marketing and the sports and entertainment industries across the United States. In September 2013, Dan was named co-chair of the Blight Removal Task Force. The group, appointed by the Obama Administration, published a detailed plan in May 2014 to remove all blighted structures and lots in the city of Detroit. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the M-1 RAIL initiative, which began construction in July 2014. The 6.6-mile light rail system is designed to spur economic development and improve downtown and midtown Detroit’s transportation infrastructure. In 2007, Dan founded Bizdom, a nonprofit entrepreneurial accelerator that trains, mentors and finances business builders in their startup enterprises in Detroit and Cleveland. Dan serves on the boards of the Cleveland Clinic, the Washington D.C.-based Children’s National Medical Center and the Children’s Tumor Foundation, which is focused on finding a cure for the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from Wayne State University.