Our Leadership

Varun Krishna is the Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Companies and Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Mortgage.

In his role as CEO of Rocket Companies, Varun oversees strategy for the business and how its brands and products work together as an ecosystem. Additionally, as CEO of Rocket Mortgage, he is responsible for the vision and day-to-day operations of the nation’s largest and most innovative retail mortgage company.

Varun is passionate about building tools that help consumers make their financial lives easier. He joined Rocket with more than 20 years of experience in product development, technology and leadership.

Prior to being named CEO of Rocket Companies, Varun was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intuit’s Consumer Group where he led the company’s suite of consumer and financial products and services, including TurboTax, in the U.S. and Canada. Before his time at Intuit, Varun held executive positions at PayPal, Groupon and BetterWorks after spending his early career at Microsoft overseeing a variety of product lines and features.

Varun earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Bill Emerson is a member of the Board and serves as President of Rocket Companies. In these positions, Bill oversees the day-to-day operations of the business, focusing on strategic planning and leveraging synergies among various operational teams at the Company. He served as our Interim Chief Executive Officer from June 1, 2023 to September 4, 2023. Bill was previously Vice Chairman of Rock Holdings, Inc., a position he held from February 2017 until May 2023, and he served in a leadership role at Bedrock from July 2020 until February 2023. In both roles, he was responsible for leadership, growth and development of culture. From 2002 to 2017, Bill was Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Mortgage, the Company’s flagship business, a position he held for 15 years.

Bill’s extensive leadership roles in the related businesses gives him a unique understanding of the company, culture and history through many economic cycles – which is particularly critical given recent executive transitions and the current macroeconomic challenges. His senior leadership experience also provides the Board with valuable perspective in significant areas of oversight such as long-term strategy, budgeting, risk management, human capital management and succession planning.

Bill is a member of the board of directors of Xenith, Inc., a football helmet company dedicated to advancing safety through innovation and education; the United Way of Southeast Michigan; Detroit Economic Club; Detroit Sports Organizing Committee; Housing Policy Council; Rocket Giving Fund; The Parade Company; the Detroit Children’s Fund and the Skillman Foundation. Bill earned a Bachelor’s degree in business from Penn State University.

Brian Brown is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Rocket Companies. In these positions, Brian is responsible for the accounting, finance, treasury, tax, investor relations and procurement functions, while also overseeing the internal audit work.

Brian previously served as Chief Accounting Officer since Rocket Companies’ initial public offering in August 2020. Brian previously held a number of roles at Rocket Mortgage from 2014 to 2020, including Senior Vice President of Accounting and Finance.

Prior to joining the Rocket Mortgage, Brian spent eight years as a senior manager at Ernst & Young serving financial services and mortgage banking clients.

Brian earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wayne State University.

KimArie Yowell is Chief Talent and DEI Officer of Rocket Companies and Chief Learning Officer of RKT Holdings – the centralized hub for the Rocket Companies FinTech platform.

In these roles, she is responsible for team member development programs along with the diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies for the businesses that are part of Rocket Companies. This includes the learning and development initiatives, post-secondary education programs, career development, diversity and inclusion programming and organizational effectiveness.

KimArie has more than 25 years of experience in client service, sales and corporate education. She has an intense passion for team member growth and helping organizations thrive. She also firmly believes that one’s ability to create a dynamic and high performing team rests on their ability to be inclusive.

Rocket was in the top 10 on Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity in 2022. The company has also ranked #1 on Essence magazine’s 10 Best Workplaces for African Americans and has been included on Fortune magazine’s list of Best Workplaces for Diversity since the list’s inception in 2015.

KimArie has received several awards and accolades, including being named one of Michigan Chronicle’s Women of Excellence (2020), Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Women in Corporate America” (2019) and “40 Under 40” by the Michigan Chronicle for her exceptional achievements and community service (2018). In addition to her roles at Rocket Companies, she serves on Siena Heights University’s Board of Trustees.

KimArie earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wayne State University. She also earned a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training, a Master of Business Administration, Master of Management and Administrative Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas. Most recently, she completed her Doctorate in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Mildenhall, a British-American, is the first-ever Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Rocket Companies. He is responsible for creating a unified and compelling voice for all businesses under the Rocket Companies umbrella, with all marketing and communications teams for the Rocket brands reporting directly to him.

Mildenhall brought more than 30 years of experience building and promoting large, brand-focused companies to Rocket Companies. He co-founded TwentyFirstCenturyBrand in 2018, which has helped some of the world’s most influential companies scale their impact including Pinterest, LinkedIn, Zalando, PepsiCo, NextDoor and Walmart.

Prior to founding his own firm, Mildenhall served as the first CMO of Airbnb, where he led the company’s brand message through a period of unprecedented growth. Through the production of Airbnb’s first Super Bowl commercial and many innovative creative campaigns, he and his team made the brand a household name while the short-term rental company expanded from 400,000 homes on the platform to more than 4.5 million residences in 191 countries in just three-and-a-half years.

Before his time at Airbnb, Mildenhall led Coca-Cola’s marketing as Vice President of global advertising strategy and content excellence. He and his team created the company’s global marketing campaign “Open Happiness,” which led to the brand’s most profitable growth period in 20 years. During his time leading Coke’s marketing, Coke was named the Creative Marketer of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Mildenhall is the executive chair of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. He also serves on the boards of Fanatics and Sonos. He has been included on Forbes’ list of the World’s most influential CMOs, Business Insider’s list of the most innovative CMOs and been a recipient of Adweek’s Brand Genius award.

Bill Banfield is the Chief Business Officer of RKT Holdings. In this role, Bill is responsible for overseeing critical business areas including Capital Markets, Mortgage Servicing and Government Affairs.

Under Bill’s leadership, Rocket navigates the ever-evolving financial landscape, safeguarding the company’s interests while fostering growth. Bill’s team is responsible for creating innovative mortgage offerings that help more Americans responsibly achieve homeownership through low down payment options and special purpose credit programs. Rocket’s Capital Markets team also manages company’s interest rate risk – including loan pricing and securitization activity – while working closely with investors and the secondary market.

Rocket Mortgage’s Servicing Team manages a portfolio exceeding $500 billion for 2.5 million clients. The team ensures that each of these clients receives the same award-winning service they expect from Rocket, from the day their loan closes until the final payment is made.

The Government Affairs Team ensures Rocket Companies’ partners in government understand the current state of the mortgage market and how homeownership can be more accessible.

Bill joined Rocket Mortgage in 1999, holding many leadership roles in Capital Markets over the last 25 years. Before Rocket, Bill served at MCA Mortgage and Lambrecht Mortgage Company. He earned an undergraduate degree in Finance from Western Michigan University.

Bill serves on the Mortgage Bankers Association Board of Directors and is a sought-after commentator on mortgage and personal finance topics. He is frequently quoted by prestigious national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters and many more.

Heather Lovier is the Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Companies, overseeing the entire homeownership experience within the organization with a focus on leveraging artificial intelligence to transform the journey. In this role, Heather leads the strategy for Rocket Mortgage’s Banking and Client Experience Operations teams, ensuring seamless integration with Rocket Mortgage’s sister company, Amrock.

Heather joined Rocket Mortgage in April 2003 as a loan analyst in Operations before transitioning to the Mousetrap team, where she focused on enhancing visibility and prioritization. Following this, Heather assumed leadership of the Business Development team as Vice President, tasked with cultivating and fortifying relationships with key business partners to optimize the mortgage platform and meet client needs. Under her guidance, the Business Development team experienced substantial growth. Heather then pivoted to lead the Client Experience Team, where her focus remained steadfast on fostering unparalleled client satisfaction and elevating the overall client journey.

Before her tenure at Rocket Mortgage, Heather built her leadership skills for eight years at an automotive supplier, where she led a customer service team. Heather’s journey has been defined by her unwavering commitment to cultivating leadership rooted in genuine care, accountability, transparent visibility and unwavering support. These principles, anchored in leading from the heart, have been her compass in steering teams toward both personal growth and collective achievements.

Beyond her professional endeavors, she is deeply committed to community involvement. Heather has served on the Board of Directors at Gleaners Community Food Bank and volunteered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation as a Wish Coordinator. She also supports Operation Good Cheer, contributing to the well-being of hundreds of children in foster care throughout Michigan.

Shawn Malhotra is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Rocket Companies. In this role, he oversees the development and implementation of technology across the entire Rocket Companies’ ecosystem. Shawn is especially focused on increasing the rate of innovation and execution in the organization and amplifying Rocket’s AI initiatives driving the company toward its goal of AI-fueled homeownership. In addition, he had oversight of Rocket’s Data Science, Product Engineering, Technology Operations and Information Security – among other areas.

Joining Rocket with an extensive resume in technology, Shawn most recently served as the Head of Engineering and Product Development for all of Thomson Reuters. Under his leadership, Thomson Reuters implemented AI solutions throughout many different business areas, including an industry-leading AI assistant spanning across a variety of the company’s’ products. Previously, Shawn held the CTO position for Thomson Reuters’ Corporate Technology business unit, led Intel’s Toronto Technology Centre and started his career in technology at Qualcomm as a software developer.

He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he graduated with honors. Shawn also earned a Master of Engineering degree at the University of Toronto and is credited with five issued US patents and two published papers.

Glenn McGillivray is Chief People & Places Officer for Rocket Companies. As the Chief People & Places Officer at Rocket, Glenn leads the organization dedicated to the growth and development of our most valuable asset—our people. With a deep passion for building high-performance cultures and teams, Glenn brings over 30 years of expertise in human resources and leadership to his role.

In this newly created position, Glenn leads the teams responsible for cultivating and sustaining Rocket’s vibrant culture and engagement. This includes oversight of “The Pulse,” Rocket’s Human Resources teams, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team, Dev Core, our team member training and development group, Focus, which is responsible for our team members’ workplace experiences, and GEAR, our executive leadership development capability.

Glenn is a proven business leader tasked with translating Rocket’s business strategy into a robust talent strategy while preserving our esteemed heritage of values, and creating an environment where every individual can flourish, prosper, and contribute to our collective success. Prior to joining Rocket, Glenn spent 25 years at Intuit, in various leadership positions across multiple HR disciplines, culminating in his role as Vice President of People and Places for the Consumer Group.

Austin Niemiec is the Chief Revenue Officer of Rocket Mortgage. In this role, he has an overall vision of, and leads the strategy for, the company’s home lending.

Previously, Austin led Rocket Pro TPO – the division of Rocket Mortgage that works exclusively with mortgage brokers, correspondent lenders, community banks and credit unions. Under his leadership, Rocket Pro TPO grew to be the second largest lender serving these groups.

Austin joined Rocket in 2009 as a mortgage banker, where he grew to understand the varied needs of homeowners through his work with thousands of clients.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business, Management and Marketing from Hillsdale College, where he was also a member of the football team.

Aaron Emerson is Chief Communications Officer for Rocket, serving Rocket Companies and its brands.

In this role, he oversees all public relations and internal communications for a variety of technology, personal finance and consumer service companies, including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Rocket Loans, Rocket Money, Rocket Mortgage Canada, Amrock and Lendesk. Aaron also oversees public relations and communications for the companies related through ROCK – the Gilbert Family Office.

Aaron joined the company’s public relations team in 2006 and has since held numerous leadership positions on the communications team. During his tenure, Aaron has played a key role in promoting the company’s growth from the nation’s 18th largest lender when he joined the team, to the nation’s largest mortgage lender.

Aaron has led the communications for several major events for Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Companies, including the company’s move to downtown Detroit; the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket, which was held in conjunction with Warren Buffett; the national launch of Rocket Mortgage – the first fully digital mortgage experience – and Rocket Companies’ IPO in 2020.

Prior to supporting Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Companies, Aaron served as Senior Associate with Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations firm, where he represented Sony Electronics, IKEA, Lincoln-Mercury, State Farm Insurance and other large consumer brands.

Haroon Mokhtarzada is the CEO and co-founder of Rocket Money (formerly known as Truebill) – a leading personal finance app with over 3.4 million members.

Prior to Rocket Money, Haroon was the founder and CEO of Webs.com, a popular website creation platform that grew to 50 million users before being acquired by Vistaprint where Haroon led digital product strategy.

Haroon has a passion for technology startups, innovation, global change, and elegant problem solving. He has personally invested in over 100 technology startups including early-stage investments in Instacart, Carta, Relativity Space, PlutoTV, and more.

Haroon is a 2021 Henry Crown Fellow and has participated on several boards including the American Express Open Digital Advisory Board and the United Nations Global Entrepreneurs Council.

Haroon is a Harvard Law grad and resides in Silver Spring, Maryland.