UM-Flint School of Management Blog

Garrick Rochow smiles while speaking from a podium that displays the University of Michigan-Flint logo. A larger university logo is also visible behind him on a blue vertical banner.

UM-Flint students attend Business Summit II featuring Fortune 500 CEO, Garrick J. Rochow

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University of Michigan-Flint business students joined area business executives for the Business Summit II on Oct. 13 at the Northbank Center in Flint. Together, they enjoyed networking, lunch and the featured speaker Garrick J. Rochow. Rochow is president and CEO of Consumers Energy and its Fortune 500 parent company CMS Energy.

A man wearing dark-rimmed glasses, a navy-blue blazer and a light-blue, patterned shirt smiles for his portrait.
Rochow

Rochow opened his speech by highlighting Consumers Energy’s achievements and commitment to not only its shareholders but also the environment, communities it serves and employees. He then discussed the three pillars of his leadership philosophy. First, he urged leaders to be deliberate about building teams that trust one another. Second, he advised leaders to know why they do what they do, an idea first popularized by author and consultant Simon Sinek. Lastly, he insisted that leaders call their teams to greatness.

“Your role as a leader is to have more belief in [your team] than they have in themselves; to have more confidence in them than they have in themselves; your job as a leader is to tell them that,” Rochow said. “It’s really about challenging the team from a timing perspective, a belief perspective and what’s possible.”

Tia Chanel returned to campus for the event after earning two degrees from UM-Flint, most recently her Master of Business Administration degree in 2021.

“During my MBA program, I worked with an employee of Consumer’s Energy on a class project,” said Chanel. “That experience gave me an opportunity to learn more about his work, which I found intriguing, so today I am really interested to learn more about the company.”

One student who attended the Business Summit II was Teqa Mack, a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting.

“My goal for this year is to be visible, to meet people, to come to things … to connect with business-minded people in the community,” said Mack. “I met someone from OLV Investment Group who told me they’re a financial advisor there, which is really cool because I have an interest in investment strategy.”

Rochow encouraged students like Mack to offer their fresh perspectives when they enter the workforce.

“Take the word ‘naive’ and throw that from your vocabulary,” he said. “You’ve got a different perspective. You’re bringing new insight when you’ve only been there six months and haven’t been indoctrinated yet.”

In the Northbank Center's brightly lit ballroom, a well-dressed man in a blue suit and light-blue tie leans down to shake hands with a man who is seated at a table and smiling up at him. The table is set with glasses and plates of food. Several other business professionals are standing and talking in the background.
A man in a gray-and-blue, plaid blazer looks at another man whose back is to the camera. A blonde woman smiles toward him on the right. Behind them is a dark-blue backdrop displaying the University of Michigan's yellow block "M" logo.
A smiling woman sits at a large round table. She is wearing glasses and a tan collared shirt, and sunglasses are resting on top of her head. The woman is surrounded by other attendees, and a table sign displaying the number 16 is visible on the right.
In a large, brightly lit room, two men in dark suits shake hands and smile at one another. Other people are seated in the foreground, and three men are speaking with one another in the background.
University of Michigan Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander shakes hands with Ridgeway White, president and CEO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. White is wearing a blue suit and smiling. A screen behind them shows the event's name and identifies the keynote speaker as Garrick Rochow. Other attendees are sitting at tables in the blurred foreground.
A group of professionals sits at a round table during the Business Summit II. Dylan Straka is among them, and he is wearing a patterned shirt with the University of Michigan's yellow block "M" logo. Straka is talking to a woman whose back is to the camera. To their left, the table is set with food, drinks, an autumn-themed centerpiece and a small sign displaying the number two.
Garrick Rochow smiles as he sits on a gray chair and gestures with his right hand while speaking to the audience. He is wearing a navy-blue suit and glasses. Andrew Younger of the Flint & Genesee Chamber is standing slightly behind and to the right of Rochow. Behind them is a dark-blue curtain and a vertical banner with a large University of Michigan-Flint logo.
Two women in dark jackets and professional attire converse across a dining table set with plates, glassware and a sign for Table 8.
Andrew Younger of the Flint & Genesee Chamber speaks from a podium while Garrick Rochow sits and listens. Behind them is a blue curtain backdrop and two large University of Michigan-Flint vertical banners.
Garrick Rochow smiles while speaking from a podium that displays the University of Michigan-Flint logo. His biography and headshot are visible on a screen to the right.

CMS Energy’s board of directors elected Rochow to his position in 2020. In this role, he leads approximately 8,300 employees as they leverage $36 billion in assets to achieve annual revenues exceeding $7.5 billion. He is also an executive committee member at Business Leaders For Michigan, among other institutions. Rochow has previously worked in many roles at Consumers Energy, most recently as executive vice president of operations from 2017 to 2020. He joined the company in 2003 as a site production manager in West Olive, Michigan.

The Business Summit II was presented by the UM-Flint School of Management, in collaboration with the Flint & Genesee Chamber. Funding for the event was provided by the university’s Critical Issues Forum, made possible by Frances Willson Thompson. UM-Flint is grateful to Willson Thompson for her generosity in creating an ongoing community dialogue for the exchange of ideas. It is also grateful to Plante Moran, Genesee Ceramic Tile and others from the business community for their support of the Business Summit II.

SOM’s first Business Summit took place in October 2024 as part of a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary. That event’s featured speaker was Ray Scott, president and CEO of Lear Corporation.

SOM welcomes corporate partners in advance of the 2026 Business Summit III. To get involved, contact Patricia Sliter, corporate relations officer at UM-Flint, at 810-424-5448 or pasliter@umich.edu.

To support SOM students, please consider contributing a gift online at the Michigan Giving website.

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