By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Three female leaders at Amrock are encouraging other women to ignore the noise and believe in themselves as they climb the corporate ladder.
Amrock, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is a leading national provider of title insurance, property valuations, and settlement services. They are a part of Rocket Companies.
Nicole Beattie, Chief Executive Officer of Amrock, has been with Rocket for nearly 18 years and began her career in mortgage banking at Rocket Mortgage – which was Quicken Loans – before transitioning to origination operations leadership.
Since then, Beattie has held numerous roles, leading teams in underwriting, closing, and servicing.
But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t doubted herself on the way up the ladder.
Beattie reported during a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that she has struggled to speak up at times, giving in to an inner voice that caused her to doubt herself.
“I would tell my younger self to challenge that voice a lot more,” Beattie said.
Beattie said she has learned to get over her perfectionist tendencies. She was afraid to make mistakes and encourages others to learn from the things that don’t go well as much as from the things that do.
“It’s okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them,” Beattie said.
Beattie’s leadership was instrumental in helping Rocket Mortgage clients navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the pandemic began to affect homeowners, Beattie’s mortgage servicing team released a proprietary technology system to assist them. Rocket Mortgage clients were able to log into an online portal containing educational resources and an automated solution to apply for a forbearance plan.
The net result was a forbearance rate significantly lower than the industry average, according to a press release.
Trina Scott, Executive Vice President of Appraisal Services at Amrock, said in order to get ahead, women need to ignore the noise and understand the value they bring to the table.
Scott has over 15 years of experience in the auditing space, and many of her previous roles focused on creating a collaborative, inclusive, and socially responsible culture within the real estate industry, most notably as the Chief Diversity Officer for Rocket Companies.
Scott said she hopes to revolutionize the appraisal space, pointing out that a majority of appraisers are white men.
A report from Freddie Mac found that appraisals for home purchases in majority-Black and majority-Latino neighborhoods were about twice as likely to result in a value below the amount a buyer is willing to pay for the property compared to appraisals in predominantly white neighborhoods.
Fannie Mae also examined refinance transactions to find that white-owned homes are more likely than Black-owned homes to be appraised at values that exceed algorithmic predictions.
Scott could not reveal all of Rocket’s plans but said they believe having more inclusion will help their clients.
“We’re trying to take the complexity out of the appraisal process,” Scott said during a recent interview with The Mortgage Note.
According to a press release issued by The White House on March 23 about the administration’s plan to address racial and ethnic bias in home valuations, action will be taken throughout the country.
Plans are to cultivate an appraiser profession that is well-trained and looks like the community it serves.
“According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the appraiser/assessor profession is roughly 97 percent white, making it one of the least diverse professions in the country. The Action Plan lays out a series of actions to remove unnecessary educational and experience requirements that make it difficult for underrepresented groups to access the profession and to strengthen anti-bias, fair housing, and fair lending training of existing appraisers,” the press release states.
Kylie Quetell, Amrock’s Executive Vice President of Title and Settlement Services, advises people to stay curious and true to themselves. She embraces her nurturing nature.
Quetell joined Rocket in 2013 and soon found her passion in fostering exceptional people, products and processes – with “people” coming first for a reason.
As Amrock’s former Director of Training and later Vice President of Training, Talent, Client Relations and Quality Assurance, Quetell increased efficiency and elevated the client and team member experience through innovative training and development programs.
Despite being a head coach of the Detroit Rugby Football Club and a high school basketball coach, Quetell said it took her a while to find herself with the confidence to assert herself in the professional world.
“Growing into my professional self, I did not believe I had a seat at the table,” Quetell said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note.
Quetell now lends her voice to public speaking engagements within the Rock Family of Companies and hosts leadership and cultural events. She was recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business on their Notable LGBTQ in Business list, according to her LinkedIn page.
“I’m thrilled to be here,” Quetell said of working for Amrock.
According to a Women in the Workforce report published by McKinsey & Company, at the beginning of 2021 women in North America remained underrepresented in the financial-services workforce.
McKinsey, a global management consulting firm founded in Chicago in 1926, collaborated with LeanIn.Org to reveal inequalities at the top levels of management.
“The highest levels of corporate leadership are still dominated by men, though women have made notable gains in the past three years. During that time, the share of women grew by 40 percent at the senior-vice-president level and 50 percent at the C-suite level—though this increase is off a low starting point,” the report states.
If you know an exceptional female leader in the industry, email Editor Kimberley Haas at: info@themortgagenote.org.
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