“At SVSU, I found all the profs were compassionate and helpful. They genuinely cared about your future.”
academic affairs, with helping him regain his confidence. “Don told me I’d done really well on a paper,” McInnis said. “I’d been going through a tough time in my life, so that was a pivotal moment for me. “Don was what I needed. He was a great influencer and became a mentor and a friend.”
Bachand wasn’t the only instructor who made an impression. “At SVSU, I found all the profs were compassionate and helpful,” McInnis said. “They genuinely cared about your future; that’s a common denominator.”
wasn’t sure about his future. The idea of law school didn’t appeal to him. Neither did being stuck in middle management. He wanted to put his energies into a career that would allow him more control and greater rewards for hard work and persistence. As luck would have it, McInnis’ sisterin-law cut the hair of a guy named Dan Gilbert, who had started an independent mortgage company. Gilbert and McInnis met and Dan offered Patrick a job at Rock Financial, which would become Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest online retail mortgage lender. McInnis started as a loan officer and his hard work paid off. In 2002, he was named president of Quicken Loans, a position he held until 2009. Early that year, he was named CEO of Fathead, one of the large family of companies owned by Dan Gilbert. McInnis has led the company to better financial performance and profitability. Life lessons he learned at SVSU have helped him achieve his success. “At SVSU, I learned I have strength in creating relationships,” McInnis said. “I remember how Don Bachand influenced me; he taught me how words and actions can powerfully affect somebody. “As I got older,” he added, “I learned you can’t change the past; you can only learn from it. So I approach every situation as an opportunity to learn and improve.”
Creating His Future
After graduating in 1988, McInnis REFLECTIONS2013 MAGAZINE 35