Five Questions with: Bill Emerson

January 24, 2018

Bill Emerson is vice chairman of Rock Holdings Inc., the parent company of Quicken Loans, the nation’s second-largest mortgage lender, and several other FinTech businesses. He is responsible for leadership, growth and culture development across the entire Rock Holdings portfolio.

Most recently, Bill was chief executive officer of Quicken Loans, a position he held for 15 years. Under his leadership, Quicken Loans became the second-largest retail mortgage lender and has closed more than
$400 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states from 2013 through 2017.

J.D. Power has ranked Quicken Loans “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the United States for the past eight years, 2010–2017. The company was also ranked highest in the nation for client satisfaction among mortgage servicers by J.D. Power for four consecutive years, 2014 through 2017, each year
the company was eligible.

Detroit-based Quicken Loans employs 17,000 team members. The company was ranked No. 10 on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list in 2017 and has been among the top 30 companies for the last 14 years. Computerworld Magazine also recognized Quicken Loans as one of the “100 Best Places to Work in IT” for 13 years, ranking No. 1 for eight of the past 12 years, including 2017.

Bill is an active spokesman for the housing industry and has testified before the United States Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. He served as chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the 2015-2016 term and is the former vice-chairman of the MBA’s Residential Board of Governors. He is also a board member of the Financial Services Roundtable’s Housing Policy Council (HPC) and the HPC’s Executive Council.

1. We’ve heard you describe that one of the reasons Quicken Loans is successful is that you value being at the intersection of technology and culture. Can you describe that intersection in a little more detail?

Since day one, culture and technology have come first for Quicken Loans. A company can have excellent team members and groundbreaking technology, but be lost without a strong culture. It’s our culture — with a meticulous focus on client service, teamwork, empowerment and challenging the status quo — that drives our victories on the technology front.

We encourage our team members to test out new ideas, take risks and understand that trying new things, even if there’s a risk of failure, breeds growth. This sort of flexibility and resiliency enables us to steamroll boundaries and drive the evolution of technology both within and beyond the mortgage industry.

The time, energy and thought we put into cultivating the reciprocal relationship between culture and technology is the foundation of everything we do.

2. There is a great line from the folks at Quicken Loans which is that you’re not a “for profit” and you’re not a “not for profit,” rather, you’re a “for-more-than-profit.” Describe for us what that means and in particular what you’re doing to revitalize Detroit.

Our Family of Companies creates commerce, drives innovation and in turn builds better communities by having a mission that’s powered by purpose. As a for-more-than-profit organization, we can be successful from a market standpoint, then use those successes to improve the greater community. There is a true business imperative here, as we find that our team members do better work when they are part of something bigger — making an impact in the communities where they live work and play. Quicken Loans’ commitments to the community and the economy work in the same mutual fashion as the company’s relationship with technology and culture.

Since moving to downtown Detroit, the Quicken Loans Family of Companies has invested over $5 billion in the city’s economy, employed over 17,000 team members, worked with Detroit Public Schools to
introduce STEM programs and has a bold goal to bring 1,000 new businesses from ideation to action. Though this is just a thin slice of our involvement in Detroit, none of it would’ve been possible without
the success of our business and for-more-than-profit mindset.

3. Quicken Loans isn’t just a mortgage company. There is a family of companies that are under the umbrella. What’s the common thread to all these companies and what are some upstarts that you are particularly excited about?

Our culture is the thread that ties our Family of Companies together. When we recruit new team members, we look for people who exemplify characteristics of family, teamwork, grit and determination. Likewise, we focus on those same exact qualities when growing all of the businesses in the family, as well as when vetting new investment or partnership opportunities.

While our Family of Companies encompasses a broad range of products and services, a number of them were established to improve specific business areas impacting the mortgage process and beyond. One Quicken Loans sister company, Rock Connections, was created after recognizing a need for superior client service in call centers. As a member of our Family of Companies, Rock Connections is driven by the same client philosophies that led Quicken Loans to be recognized by J.D. Power for the past eight years — in multiple categories — for top customer service. Not only are we helping companies grow, we are also helping Detroiters. Rock Connections has emerged as a career destination for local residents, proving to be a workforce point of entry regardless of educational background.

Right now, we’re also extremely proud of the success StockX has earned, the world’s first “stock market of things.” This member of our Family of Companies was initially created as a platform for the sale and authentication of high-demand sneakers and expanded to included watches, handbags and streetwear. This start-up now has more than two million users each month and has grown to more than 100 full-time team members since its launch in February 2016.

4. Quicken Loans services the majority of its own loans. It falls under the customer mantra to “love, amaze and protect.” Why is this approach to origination and servicing successful and what metrics prove to you that it’s the right way to work with your customers?

Award-winning client service shouldn’t end when a loan closes. It should continue for as long as the client has the loan.

Our four-straight J.D. Power Awards for Mortgage Servicing and eight-straight J.D. Power Awards for Mortgage Origination — the most of any mortgage company — are proof of our commitment to clients. Many lenders get so caught up in the numbers on their spreadsheets that they forget about the real meaning of business — improving the lives of the people who use our services. At the end of the day, our client service, tech innovations, marketing strategies and every other business decision that has simplified the mortgage process ultimately stem from our commitment to the well-being of our clients and their families.

5. You played college football at Penn State. You coach your son’s team and I’m presuming you played Pop Warner football when you were young. What did you learn from the sport and from your coaches that have helped you over your career leading the Quicken Loans team?

In football, each person has a specific responsibility and the only way to get a win is if everyone does their job, understands everyone else’s job and — most important — communicates effectively with one another. That makes it a perfect analogy for business, relationships and life.

Participating in athletics taught me the value of counting on other people and working together to create a common goal at an early age. I’ve carried these values with me ever since and use them to guide my decisions to this day.

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