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After slashing its marketing and advertising budget and losing its title as the nation’s largest mortgage lender, Rocket Companies is stepping up its marketing game, hiring Airbnb veteran Jonathan Mildenhall as its first group chief marketing officer.
Mildenhall, whose more than 30 years of experience in the marketing business also includes a 7 1/2-year stint at Coca-Cola, founded the consulting firm TwentyFirstCenturyBrand in 2018 after serving as Airbnb’s CMO for 4 years.
Varun Krishna
“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,” Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna said in a statement.
Krishna, who just stepped into the CEO role himself on Sept. 5, after holding product management roles at companies including Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft, said he’s “been highly impressed by the number of incredible stories we have to tell” at Rocket.
“Countless customers, team members and vendors have told us how working with Rocket changed their lives,” Krishna said. “I am looking forward to Jonathan and the team creating new and innovative ways to share these inspiring narratives with the world.”
Mildenhall will be responsible “for creating a unified and compelling voice for all businesses under the Rocket Companies umbrella,” which, in addition to Rocket Mortgage, includes consumer finance app Rocket Money, real estate brokerage Rocket Homes and title insurance provider Amrock.
Rocket was dethroned as the nation’s biggest mortgage lender in 2022 by rival United Wholesale Mortgage as rising mortgage rates put an end to the pandemic-era…