Katie Sweeney talks priorities, broker focus as she starts new Rocket role

Mortgage giant announced blockbuster move for well-known executive last week

Katie Sweeney talks priorities, broker focus as she starts new Rocket role

Katie Sweeney (pictured) said the chance to help develop the Rocket Pro channel and what it means to brokers was “an opportunity I couldn’t turn down” as she stepped into the role of EVP, strategy and broker advocacy at the mortgage giant.

The former Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) chief executive officer marked a big-name appointment for Rocket last week as the company intensifies its focus on the broker community and changing the narrative around its efforts in that space.

The move had its roots in conversations between Sweeney and Rocket Pro general manager Dan Sogorka – initially aimed at exploring opportunities for collaboration between the lender and the Broker Action Coalition (BAC), which Sweeney headed and will continue to serve as board adviser.

Sogorka (pictured below) said Sweeney’s name was at the top of his list of “dream hires” as he set about boosting Rocket’s broker advocacy efforts.

“I’ve been really focused on how we can deliver more value to the broker community, how we can understand their needs across a broad spectrum of things including technology, service, advocacy,” he told Mortgage Professional America. “So Katie was the total logical choice – the best suited person to do that and reflect her experience, but also to partner going forward as we redefine how we go to market.

“From a broker engagement standpoint, she’s been running that playbook really well for the last couple of years so I think Rocket’s experience, along with hers and the scale that we can [use] in the community, is going to bring a lot of value to our partners.”

Rocket, BAC set to collaborate further in coming year

Sweeney said Rocket’s policy positions on the federal level were closely aligned with those of the BAC and hinted at closer collaboration between the two organizations looking ahead.

“I think the intent of Rocket Pro is to support the mortgage broker community and the BAC is a way to do that,” she said. “We’re very much looking to collaborating at least on a legislative and policy level and what extends beyond that, we’ll see how things shake out over the next couple of months. But we’re very eager.

“It goes back to being able to leverage the resources that Rocket makes available to the industry and making sure that they get down to the broker community. And I think the BAC is a great way to do that.”

Priorities on that side will include making sure that the viewpoint of the local originator and their impact on communities at home are strongly represented, she added – and trigger lead reform will also remain front and center, with Rocket a years-long advocate of new legislation on that front.

Hopes are high among industry advocates for progress on the hot-button trigger lead issue in 2025, with reform efforts narrowly thwarted at the end of last year despite passing through the Senate with bipartisan approval.

Rocket strengthening focus on broker space

Redefining the narrative around Rocket Pro’s identity within the wholesale community will go hand-in-hand with shaping views on who brokers are among DC lawmakers, while Sweeney also emphasized the importance of finding ways to bring technological advancements offered in retail banking for Rocket loan officers to broker partners.

“We’ll be working on finding ways to bring those products to market and working with third-party integrations to help people run their business in whatever way they want,” she said.

Sogorka said Rocket was doubling down on its efforts in the broker space, revamping and ramping up its entire program.

“This year, we’re really being much more structured and much more deliberate about what we do, making sure that we add value and have really high-impact events,” he said.

“So [Sweeney] is going to be heavily involved with myself and the rest of the team in terms of putting that in place, measuring things, the before and after: Did we do what we aimed to do? How can we constantly get better? Really focusing on continuous improvement and delivery of value.”

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