Detroit's Rocket Companies announce executive shuffle, including CFO
Detroit-based Rocket Companies announced Monday a shuffling of several top executives, including its chief financial officer.
CFO and Treasurer Julie Booth will retire Nov. 15 and transition to an "advisory role within the company," while General Counsel and Secretary Angelo Vitale, retired this week and now holds an "of counsel" position.
Current Chief Accounting Officer Brian Brown, 43, will replace Booth in the dual role as CFO and Treasurer. Rocket's new General Counsel and Secretary is Tina John, previously the deputy general counsel and assistant secretary.
Rocket Companies is composed of multiple Dan Gilbert companies. The biggest, Rocket Mortgage, is the nation's top mortgage lender by volume of business.
The job changes come during a downturn in the mortgage business, prompted by rising interest rates. Rocket has stayed profitable in recent quarters, but has been reducing staff, largely through voluntary buyouts.
Rocket's share price was $6.55 as of midday Monday, well below its August 2020 initial public offering price of $18.
Booth, who is in her 50s, joined Rocket's mortgage arm, Rocket Mortgage, formerly known as Quicken Loans, in 2003 and became Quicken's CFO in 2005. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Michigan.
Since Rocket's IPO, she also has been responsible for giving detailed presentations to Wall Street analysts during the company's quarterly earnings calls. In her new strategic advisory role, her annual salary will be $100,000, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
"During her time as CFO, Julie has been a tremendous leader in our organization, helping guide our company through significant growth and expansion, culminating with our IPO in 2020," Rocket's CEO Jay Farner said in a statement. "Even more impressive is the tremendous team Julie has built and the deep care she has shown for everyone in our company, including Brian, who has already proven himself to be an incredible financial mind who will help lead us well into the future."
Brown arrived at Quicken Loans in 2014 and currently leads the company's Accounting, Finance, Treasury and Procurement teams.
Before joining the company, he worked for eight years at Ernst & Young. He received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Wayne State University in 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Vitale also will have a $100,000-per-year salary in his new "of counsel" role, and is eligible for up to $210,000 in future separation pay, according to the SEC filing.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rocket Companies reshuffle CFO, general counsel execs
