Rocket's Katie Sweeney eyes big broker advocacy moves

April 11, 2025 8:54 AM

Katie Sweeney joined Rocket Pro to run the firm's advocacy efforts fully aware that her move might raise a few eyebrows.

"I think there were a lot of questions when I joined the team, and I understand why," Sweeney said Wednesday. "But what I could tell anybody who asked is that I've always been very committed and very public about doing what's right and leaving the industry better than it was when I joined."

Sweeney has big plans to strengthen Rocket Pro's advocacy efforts—from increasing the wholesale channel's involvement in veterans' issues to supporting women originators.

Prior to joining Rocket in January, Sweeney was CEO of the Broker Action Coalition from 2022, and, before that, CEO of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts.

Though Rocket-related news have mainly revolved around the firm's acquisition of Redfin and then Mr. Cooper, the executive said the broker community should stay tuned for some chatter-worthy announcements in the near term.

"We're very excited about some more things that are coming very quickly down the pipe line… me and Dan Sogorka, general manager at Rocket Pro, were brought in to shake things up," she said.

Read on for a Q&A with the Rocket Pro advocacy executive. Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you land this opportunity?

I actually connected with the Rocket team through their government affairs work. Throughout last year, Brendan McKay and I were part of a coalition with some of Rocket's government affairs leaders and a few others. It was organized by the Mortgage Bankers Association to address trigger lead legislation. Seeing firsthand what Rocket's commitment really looks like—not just to the wholesale channel, but to the industry as a whole—beyond the rumors and perceptions, is what opened me up to the conversation in the first place.

Rocket reached out at the end of last year looking to sponsor the Broker Action Coalition and that call turned into me joining their team to do a lot of the broker advocacy work internally. I think they recognized that they were really good stewards of the industry, but had a little bit of a gap in understanding how some of those industry policies might affect brokers differently than they had been aware of before. I joined the team to bring light to that and to make sure that their team is continuing to do work for mortgage brokers.

It was only natural that if that was where my work was going to continue, that it was time for Rocket to step up and participate with the BAC. If we can help support that monetarily or through access to resources or commitment to research, then that's exactly what we're going to do.

What plans do you have for building out Rocket TPO’s advocacy?

We're involved with several industry organizations, but we're also excited to partner with other groups doing advocacy in different ways—whether it's promoting more women in mortgage, helping veterans access loans more efficiently and accurately, or expanding support for Hispanic homebuyers through our broker partners. There's so much I'm looking forward to bringing into Rocket. With the company's research capabilities, resources, and historical knowledge—combined with these external partnerships—I think we'll be able to do some really impactful work.

Whether you're a Rocket partner today, will be one in the future, or never plan to be, our goal is the same—we want to support and empower the businesses that make the wholesale channel thrive and help homebuyers achieve their dreams. That's always been the mission.

With partnerships like BAC, and others we're excited to announce soon, we're focused on putting our resources in the hands of the people doing the work. It's about diversifying leadership and building platforms for those who are changing the way homebuyers think about mortgages and homeownership.

How will Rocket’s acquisition of Redfin and Mr. Cooper benefit brokers?

The industry was very interested in the Redfin and Mr. Cooper news. I think mortgage brokers were interested, but also cautiously waiting to see what would unfold.

I can absolutely confirm, without going into too many details, that both of these acquisitions are going to greatly benefit mortgage brokers, both our current pro partners and also just the channel as a whole, and the direction that we want to help it grow.

Dan and I wouldn't have joined the team if we didn't believe Varun Krishna and his leadership group were truly committed to this space for the long term. Everything we do—whether it's immediately visible or not—is done with mortgage brokers in mind.

Varun has an incredible vision and a clear, defined perspective on where he wants to take Rocket, and brokers are a major part of that plan. My entire career has been focused on supporting brokers, and I wouldn't have joined a team that wasn't equally committed to continuing that work.

Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for Rocket TPO?

We are looking at really understanding different segments of the broker channel. Brokers are not one size fits all, so we're doing a lot of work to understand what those segments are and how we can best serve them. It's really exciting research that we're in the middle of right now that we're going to be able to start disseminating and sharing, maybe in early q3.

Apart from a big announcement coming in mid-April, we have a couple of others that are coming in the next two months before Q2 is over. We have some big tech developments that are going to be rolled out in the second half of the year for brokers.

We also have some mortgage products that we're playing around with that we're hoping to be able to offer. We're really going to be diving into the VA space, we're very excited about that. It's a big commitment of mine, and always will be, is serving those who have served. I think the leadership team at Rocket is very aligned with that, and finding ways that we can make it easier and more efficient for veterans to get into homes and to stay in them.

A big part of my role in joining the team at Rocket is being able to come in and look at everything that's been built for the company and everything that's been built for our bankers, and how do we offer those same services and provide that same level of support to our brokers? Advocacy is in my job title, but it's not only what can be done in DC, but also how do I advocate internally to make sure that Rocket Pro and our broker partners are getting access to what they need.

There’s been a lot of division in the mortgage broker space over whether to align with Rocket or United Wholesale Mortgage. What’s your take on that?

I think there were a lot of rumors about Rocket Pro for a very long time, and I think a lot of that came from not very many people in our community having direct access to the team at Rocket. We've heard a lot of stuff. It was distributed down through the grape vine, but we never had personal experiences with them.

The rumor versus reality is very different. There's a lot of things that were said for a very long time that have turned out to not be true, and I think we're all very committed to making sure that whoever you decide to work with in whatever capacity, we're not here to dictate what lender you send business to. I have no interest in that. I don't think anybody at Rocket is interested in that. But we want you to have all the information when you're making those decisions.

We're going to be much more active in telling our own story. For a long time, others have tried to define who we are, and that hasn't always reflected our values, our people, or our goals accurately. Moving forward, we're going to be more vocal about what we're working on and what we're excited to bring to the industry and the channel.