Patrick graduated from City University of New York Baruch College with an MBA in International Marketing in 1997. While completing his degree, he started in the maritime industry in 1995 with U.S.-based tanker owner OMI Corporation where he worked for five years specializing in product tankers. After working for two and a half years at Hamburg-based tanker broker Frachtcontor Junge, he switched to the shipowning side once again by joining the UPT team in October 2002.