Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest home mortgage lender, enables the American Dream of homeownership and financial freedom through its obsession with an industry-leading, digital-driven client experience. Rocket Mortgage closed $320 billion dollars of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2020. In late 2015, it introduced the first fully digital, completely online mortgage experience. Currently, 99% of all home loans originated by the company utilize Rocket Mortgage technology.

Finance

Rocket Mortgage

Paul Yatooma is currently the VP Sales for Quicken Loans Mortgage Services at [Rocket Mortgage](/org/rocket-mortgage). Paul has over thirteen years of experience in the mortgage industry, and has been with Quicken Loans since 2007. Paul has held various positions within the company, including Senior Director of Mortgage Banking and Divisional Vice President. In their current role, they are responsible for leading a team of sales professionals and ensuring that Quicken Loans remains a top provider of mortgage services.

Paul Yatooma earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management, General from Walsh College.

Paul Yatooma

KimArie Yowell is Chief Diversity Officer of Rocket Companies and Chief Learning Officer of Rocket Central – 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.

KimArie Yowell

Niemiec began his career with the company 10 years ago as a mortgage banker and he embodies a “street” focus that came from working with thousands of clients over the years. He deeply understands the needs of loan officers and homeowners, bringing that viewpoint to his new role. Niemiec has spent the last two years leading the Account Executives at QLMS through a period of rampant growth, which has prepared him to help the company continue that expansion.

Austin Niemiec

Aaron Emerson is Chief Communications Officer for Rocket Central, 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 Auto, Rocket Central, Rock Connections, Amrock, Truebill, Core Digital Media, Lendesk and Edison Financial.

Aaron joined Quicken Loans in 2006 as a public relations manager and has since held numerous leadership positions on the communications team. During his tenure, Aaron has played a key role in 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.

Aaron earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Eastern Michigan University.

Aaron Emerson

Tim Birkmeier is the President and Chief Revenue Officer for Rocket Mortgage. In these roles, he is responsible for all teams and initiatives that create top-line revenue for the company – including Mortgage Banking and the company’s Partnership Channel.

He also leads the Business Development team. Tim’s core focus in this role is creating and nurturing strategic partnerships with other companies that lead their respective industries and align culturally with Rocket Mortgage. These partnerships help more people unlock financial freedom and achieve the American dream of homeownership through Rocket Mortgage’s innovative technology.

Tim joined Rock Financial – the company that would later become Rocket Mortgage – in 1996 and quickly became one of the company’s top mortgage professionals. Since that time, he has held many leadership positions, helping grow the company from a regional, branch-based company to a national online mortgage lender, then becoming America’s largest mortgage lender.

In addition to his work with Rocket Mortgage, Tim helps the oversee the growth of Rocket Auto and Edison Financial – two other businesses from the Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) umbrella.

Tim earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from Wayne State University. He and his family reside in metro Detroit.

Tim Birkmeier

LaQuanda Sain is the Executive Vice President of Servicing at Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest mortgage lender. In this role, LaQuanda leads the company’s mortgage servicing business with a team of dedicated professionals located in Detroit and Phoenix. Rocket Mortgage currently has more than 2.5 million servicing clients, offering them industry-leading technology and award-winning client service.

Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage has been ranked highest in the nation for customer satisfaction among mortgage servicers eight years in a row, 2014–2021, each of the years the company was eligible.

LaQuanda joined Rocket Mortgage in 2013 as an Investor Reporting Analyst with 11 years of industry experience. She has held several leadership roles with the company including her most recent, Executive Vice President of Retention. In this role, LaQuanda led teams focused on proactively communicating with existing clients to ensure that they are in the best mortgage option available for their unique situation.

LaQuanda has bachelor’s degrees from Wayne State and Davenport University as well as a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State.

Laquanda Sain

Rebecca McDonald is the Chief Product Officer of Rocket Mortgage. In this role, she leads the Product Strategy team which focuses on the digital experience for the company’s clients and partners. This includes UX, Design, Product Management, Portfolio Management, Product Marketing and Market Intelligence.

Rebecca joined Rock Financial – the company that would later become Rocket Mortgage – in 1997 as a mortgage banker and quickly became one of the company’s top mortgage professionals. Since then, she has held several leadership positions in training, mortgage operations, Mousetrap (business consulting), Technology and The Pulse (human resources). Across all these roles and business areas, she has focused on creating transformational change for our clients and team members through leadership, technology and process improvements.

She is an active member in her local community, currently serving on the Board of Directors for When You Need It Most – a nonprofit that supports Detroit teachers, students and their families with the resources they need the most, in order to help improve their lives and make for a happier tomorrow.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Dayton. Rebecca and her family reside in metro Detroit.

Rebecca McDonald

Brian Woodring is the Chief Information Officer of Rocket Mortgage. In this role, he leads the company’s award-winning Technology team, and is responsible for strategy and the delivery for our digital products, technology platforms and data intelligence. Brian is focused on delivering digital experiences that drive innovation in the consumer lending industry and building the most scalable lending platform in the world.

He joined Rocket Mortgage in 2017 as the company’s Chief Technology Officer, leading the Product Engineering team. Brian and his team redesigned Rocket Mortgage’s engineering practices, advanced the company’s leadership in digital lending and implemented platforms that reimagined the way that Rocket Mortgage team members communicate with their clients.

Brian has more than 20 years of experience working as an engineer and technology leader, most prominently at Black Knight, Inc. where he oversaw Servicing and Default Technology, and led the development of solutions such as VALERI, LoanSphere and Fusion.

Brian Woodring

Casey Hurbis is the Chief Marketing Officer at Rocket Central, serving all businesses within the Rocket Companies portfolio. He oversees all marketing initiatives while driving new, innovative strategies to captivate the audience of the nation’s largest and most trusted mortgage lender. To achieve these goals, Casey leads Detroit’s premier in-house marketing agency.

Under Casey’s leadership, Rocket Mortgage has earned two consecutive #1 rankings atop the highly coveted USA Today Ad Meter, the leading ranking platform for Super Bowl commercials. In 2022 the company achieved the honor for an advertisement featuring Barbie and actress Anna Kendrick promoting the benefit of finding and financing a home through Rocket Homes and Rocket Mortgage. In 2021, the company took home both the #1 and #2 spots on Ad Meter for two humorous ads featuring Tracy Morgan.

Casey’s team led the creation and promotion of the Rocket Mortgage Classic – the first PGA TOUR event held in the city of Detroit. In 2019, the inaugural tournament was the most-awarded event on the TOUR, winning three “Best Of” awards, including the “Fair Way Award” for its diversity and inclusion initiatives. In 2020, the tournament shifted its focus and dedicated the bulk of its fundraising to bridging the digital divide in Detroit – the least connected major city in America.

Along with Rocket Mortgage, Casey oversees the marketing efforts for other successful businesses in Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), including Rocket Pro TPO, Rocket Homes and Rocket Auto – helping to elevate these brands in their respective industries. His leadership helped Rocket Mortgage earn its place in Ad Age’s Best Places to Work in 2021 list.

Casey joined the Rocket in 2017 after 24 years in automotive marketing – most recently leading advertising and communications for FIAT, where he helped successfully reintroduce the FIAT brand to American car buyers.

Equally important to his brand-building efforts is Casey’s work with local and national nonprofits. Three that are particularly close to his heart are the Special Olympics, the Salvation Army and Bethany Christian Adoption Services. In addition to his community efforts, Casey serves on the Board of Directors for Adcraft Detroit and the Detroit Sports Commission.

Casey is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he can be found cheering on his Spartans every fall.

Casey Hurbis

Bill Banfield is the Executive Vice President of Capital Markets for Rocket Mortgage. In this role, he leads the Capital Markets activities as well as the Legal/Compliance functions encompassing credit policy for both origination and servicing.

In addition, Bill leads Revenue Operations which is responsible for sales capacity planning, workforce management, operations strategy and analytical support.

The combined group of more than 750 team members is focused on managing risks for the organization and driving changes that help the company grow effectively.

Bill joined Rocket Mortgage in 1999 after holding positions at both MCA Mortgage and Lambrecht Mortgage Company. He earned an undergraduate degree in Finance from Western Michigan University.

Bill Banfield

Heather Lovier

Bob Walters is Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest mortgage lender. In this position, he is responsible for the vision, strategy and the day-to-day operation of Rocket Mortgage. Bob is also President and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT).

Previously, Bob served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Mortgage, overseeing the Mortgage Servicing, Client Experience Operations, Capital Markets and Technology Teams. Prior to holding his position as President, he was Chief Economist and Executive Vice President supervising the Capital Markets and Servicing operations at Rocket Mortgage – growing the Servicing business from startup to its current position as the fifth largest servicer in the country. He has also been instrumental in directing the teams that manage interest rate risk management, trading and product development.

He joined Rock Financial in 1997 after holding positions at both the National Bank of Detroit and DMR Financial Services.

Bob earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Oakland University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Bob Walters

Katerina Kostad

Regis Hadiaris

Dan Gilbert is Founder and Chairman of [Quicken Loans](/org/quicken-loans), the nation’s largest mortgage lender. He is also Founder and Chairman of the Rock Family of Companies, a portfolio of technology businesses and real estate investments, and Chairman of the [Cleveland Cavaliers](/org/cleveland-cavaliers). In 2016, the [Cleveland Cavaliers](/org/cleveland-cavaliers) won the NBA championship. The Rock Family of Companies and its more than 100 affiliated companies across the country employ more than 30,000 team members, including more than 17,000 in Detroit’s urban core.

From 2013 through 2018, Detroit-based [Quicken Loans](/org/quicken-loans) closed nearly half a trillion dollars in home loan volume across all 50 states, and in 2018, for the ninth consecutive year, earned J.D. Power’s highest rating for client satisfaction among all U.S. mortgage lenders.

Dan is also an active investor in fintech, sports-related and consumer direct companies. Dan is a Founder and Principal of [Detroit Venture Partners](/org/detroit-venture-partners) (DVP), a venture capital firm that funds startup and early-stage technology companies and a Founding Partner of Detroit-based private equity group Rockbridge Growth Equity.

In February 2016, Dan co-founded Detroit-based [StockX](/org/stockx), the world’s first ‘stock market of things’, combining the visible, liquid, anonymous, and transparent benefits of a stock market with the online consumer secondary market.

Dan began moving his Family of Companies to Detroit’s central business district in 2010 in an effort to help lead the transformation of a great American city. In 2011, Dan co-founded Detroit-based Bedrock, a full-service real estate firm specializing in acquiring, leasing, financing, and managing commercial and residential space. Since its founding, Bedrock and its affiliates have invested and committed more than $5.6 billion to acquiring and developing more than 100 properties, including new construction of ground up developments in downtown Detroit and Cleveland, totaling more than 18 million square feet.

In September 2013, Dan was named co-chair of the Blight Removal Task Force. The group, appointed by the Obama Administration, published a detailed plan in May 2014 to remove all blighted structures and lots in the city of Detroit.

Dan serves on the boards of the Cleveland Clinic and the Children’s Tumor Foundation. In 2015, Dan and Jennifer Gilbert established the Gilbert Family Foundation and in 2017, formed ‘NF Forward’ to fund cutting-edge research dedicated to finding a cure for neurofibromatosis (NF).

Dan earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from Wayne State University.

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