Rocket names ex-Airbnb exec chief marketing officer

Rocket welcomed a former Airbnb executive to the fold, tapping Jonathan Mildenhall to lead marketing across all of its lines of business.

Mildenhall steps into the newly created position of chief marketing officer at Detroit-based Rocket Cos., joining after the appointment of fintech executive Varun Krishna to CEO last summer. Mildenhall's hiring comes at a time when the company has increasingly sought to promote its technology capabilities within mortgage and real estate services in the face of anticipated future pivots toward artificial intelligence and automation. 

"Jonathan is one of the top marketing minds in the world, with a strong reputation for consistently delivering compelling campaigns that break through the clutter and become socially relevant," Krishna said in a press release.

Previously, Mildenhall served as the first chief marketing officer at short-term rental platform Airbnb, helping guide the company in the early days of its launch. Earlier in his career, Mildenhall led marketing initiatives at Coca-Cola as vice president of global advertising strategy and content excellence.

Following his tenure at Airbnb, he co-founded branding and marketing consultancy Twentyfirstcenturybrand in 2018, a business whose clients include Pinterest, Linkedin, Nextdoor and Walmart. Mildenhall will continue to serve as chairman of the firm while overseeing Rocket's marketing strategy. 

"It will be our mission to create integrated marketing campaigns that live up to the extraordinary social impact that Rocket makes every day," Mildenhall said. 

In addition to the well-known mortgage brand, other businesses operating under the company umbrella include Rocket Homes, Amrock, Rocket Money and Rocket Loans. The marketing and communications teams of each brand will report directly to Mildenhall.

The marketing veteran comes to the company as it makes concerted efforts to cross-promote Rocket Mortgage with its other subsidiaries, offering clients additional services on a complimentary basis in order to broaden the customer base. Notably, the company has strengthened the relationship between the home lender and the personal finance app, Rocket Money, which it acquired in 2021 under its original name of Truebill. 

Rocket has also made no secret of its aim to become a mortgage-industry artificial intelligence innovator after unveiling a tool late last year designed to answer frequently asked loan-officer questions. Rocket Homes made its AI-powered home search app available on Apple Carplay as well.    

Rocket Cos. appointment of Krishna to CEO this past summer firmly underscored its aim to be a technology leader, Bose George, managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said at the time. Krishna came with prior leadership experience from consumer-facing tech-based brands Intuit and Paypal. Last week, Rocket gave him additional leadership authority, naming him to its board as a class III director.