Okai brings years of tech leadership to Rocket
as the company continues its strategy of AI-fueled
homeownership
DETROIT, Oct. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), the Detroit-based fintech platform company
including mortgage, real estate and other financial service
businesses, today named Venmo Chief Technology Officer and former
PayPal technology executive Papanii Okai the Executive Vice
President (EVP) of Product Engineering – effective October 7. In this newly created role, Okai will
work with the company's senior technology leaders to create
AI-driven products at an even greater velocity.
"We've all experienced technology that drives real impact in the
world through Papanii's work with Paypal and Venmo. Now, he will be
using that skill to help revolutionize the homeownership journey,"
said Shawn Malhotra, Chief
Technology Officer of Rocket Companies. "After serving in roles
from a hands-on-keyboard engineer all the way to a CTO at both
startups and large international tech companies, Papanii's
technical depth and track record for building high-performing and
highly engaged teams makes him a valuable asset for us at Rocket.
I'm looking forward to working closely with him as he helps us
continue to evolve and elevate our technology teams."
Okai joins Rocket at a time when the company is modernizing the
homeownership experience for clients and partners by harnessing AI
to create the most personalized, efficient and accurate process
possible. The company created its own loan origination system –
called Rocket Logic – that uses AI to identify and automatically
extract data from the documents Rocket clients submit. A related
tool, Rocket Logic – Synopsis, presents team members with
searchable transcripts from calls, chats, relevant documents and
data from Rocket Logic. With the company's AI-powered tools, Rocket
is projected to save more than 700,000 hours of time this year.
"Homeownership is one of the most impactful things that can
happen in someone's life. It brings security, stability and can
build generational wealth – which is exactly why I jumped on this
opportunity," said Okai. "The best way we can use technology is to
make the path to homeownership easier, faster and more accessible.
I'm looking forward to bridging the gap between technology and
human experience, so people across the country, no matter where
they are from, feel confident taking this life changing step."
Okai spent nearly 11 years in technology leadership roles at
Venmo, most recently as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President
of Engineering. He led the technology and engineering teams who
built and scaled products used by Venmo's 90 million users, while
driving strategic initiatives that solidified Venmo as a leader in
peer-to-peer payments.
Okai also led the engineering teams at PayPal, the global
payments company serving more than 400 million accounts, holding
many roles ranging from platform engineer to Chief Technology
Officer for Branded Checkout and Vice President of Engineering for
PayPal Giving. He oversaw the engineers, developers and product
managers worldwide who powered PayPal's payments platform used by
both customers and merchants.
Okai will collaborate closely with engineers, product managers
and design teams to build upon Rocket's AI-powered products. His
leadership will ensure that Rocket continues to deliver technically
advanced, client-focused solutions that drive innovation and
efficiency at every stage of the home buying process.
About Rocket Companies
Founded in 1985, Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) is a Detroit-based fintech platform company
consisting of personal finance and consumer technology brands
including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Amrock Title and
Settlement Services, Rocket Money and Rocket Loans.
With more than 65 million call logs each year, 10 petabytes of
data and a mission to Help Everyone Home, Rocket Companies is well
positioned to be the destination for AI-fueled homeownership. Known
for providing exceptional client experiences, J.D. Power has ranked
Rocket Mortgage #1 in client satisfaction for primary mortgage
origination and mortgage servicing a total of 22 times – the most
of any mortgage lender.
For more information, please visit our Corporate
Website or Investor Relations Website.
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SOURCE Rocket Companies, Inc.