September 2, 2020

Thought Leader: Entrepreneurship and personal finance

An award-winning certified public accountant and an expert in personal finance and entrepreneurship, Matt Roling is the founding executive director for WSU’s new Office of Business Innovation, which is intended to drive engagement between Wayne State and the private sector and to better coordinate the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. He is also the interim chair for the Mike Ilitch School of Business accounting department, responsible for the development and teaching of Wayne State’s first personal finance course (BA 1200). Roling has also advised, led and invested in startups in the education, fintech, social impact, and sports and entertainment sectors. Most recently, Roling has repurposed his skills to help nonprofits, small businesses and entrepreneurs withstand the effects of COVID-19.

Additionally, Roling is incredibly involved in the Detroit community, serving as board chair of the Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program during a period of tremendous growth in the organization’s life. He also chairs the board of Green Living Science, a Detroit-based environmental education nonprofit. Roling is on the Michigan State Board of Accountancy and the Detroit Institute of Art’s Founders Junior Council. He was also a part of a small group of Detroiters that helped Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy with the advocacy and fundraising necessary to create a cold case unit that tested and adjudicated a backlog of over 10,0000 untested sexual assault kits.

Roling’s extended professional background has given him expertise in:

Business development and corporate strategy
Mergers and acquisitions
Insolvency, restructuring and business turnaround consulting
Entrepreneurial finance and growth
Social impact strategy
Personal finance

Roling serves on multiple boards for local businesses and organizations and has been honored as one of DBusiness Magazine’s “30 in Their Thirties” and Crain’s Detroit Business’ “40 under 40.” Prior to joining Wayne State, Roling served as the CEO of BoostUp, and spent seven years as director of business development at Rock Ventures. His previous work included time as a turnaround consultant AlixPartners and as an M&A consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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