Rocket Companies announced Shawn Malhotra as its first group chief technology officer (CTO).
In this role, Malhotra will oversee the development and implementation of technology across the entire Rocket Companies’ ecosystem, including artificial intelligence (AI) development, data science, product engineering, technology operations and information security – among other areas.
“Shawn brings a wealth of expertise and a transformative vision to our technology teams. As we double down on our commitment to technology innovation, Shawn will help us focus on delivering groundbreaking solutions to our clients, partners and team members,” Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies, said in a release. “Shawn’s primary objective will be to increase the rate of innovation and execution in the organization, amplifying Rocket’s AI initiatives. His fresh perspective and track record of leveraging AI to simplify and automate processes makes me confident that, together, we will quickly realize our vision of AI-fueled homeownership.”
Previously, Malhotra held a variety of technology leadership roles at Thomson Reuters. Most recently, he was the head of engineering and product development for the entire company. Under Malhotra’s oversight, Thomson Reuters established a platform to accelerate development of generative AI solutions, while introducing an AI assistant spanning all Thomson Reuters products.
Previously, Malhotra served as CTO of Thomson Reuters’ corporate technology business unit. When he joined the company in 2017, he was instrumental in founding Thomson Reuters’ Toronto Technology Centre, prioritizing AI talent and expanding TR Labs – the company’s division dedicated to research around AI and other technological innovation.
“I am looking forward to being part of this pivotal time in Rocket Companies’ history and am eager to explore how AI can simplify the path to homeownership,” Malhotra said. “I truly believe in the transformative potential of AI technology. Few missions are as crucial or deserving of its power as Rocket’s goal of making housing more accessible for all.”
Before his time at Thomson Reuters, Malhotra spent 12 years at Intel – including at Altera before the company was acquired by Intel. He led Intel’s Toronto Technology Centre, which housed 200 software engineers, and was the director of software development. Malhotra started his career as a software developer for Qualcomm.
Malhotra joined the company at a key time for Rocket. Just last month, Rocket Companies announced Rocket Logic and Rocket Logic – Synopsis. The tools use generative AI to quickly automate manual tasks that humans would typically spend hours of time completing. This includes classifying documents, extracting client data, tracking sentiment and recording client patterns and preferences.
Malhotra earned a bachelor of applied science degree in computer engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he graduated with honors. He also earned a master of engineering degree at the University of Toronto. Malhotra is credited with five issued U.S. patents and two published papers.