Matt Rocco Steps Up

(Matt Rocco)

Matt Rocco holds a lot of titles: he is Chairman and CEO of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a nationwide commercial real estate mortgage banking company, and a member of Grandbridge’s Board of Managers and Senior Leadership Team as well as parent company Truist Bank’s Risk Committee and Senior Leadership Team.

This Sunday, Rocco will add one more title to his resume: 2023 Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. But he prefers not to dwell on titles. “If you look at my business card, it just gives my name, address, and phone number – no job title,” he said. “I like to keep it simple.”

Rocco graduated from the University of Alabama and worked in investment banking, bond issuance, underwriting, and real estate asset management. He joined Grandbridge in 1998. He participates in several real estate-related trade associations, but said he wanted to join MBA’s leadership ladder because of MBA’s powerful platform and reach.

“MBA serves as a bedrock for the real estate finance industry,” he said. “When we form coalitions with other trade groups, MBA is often the leader. With so much at stake right now, having a steady hand at MBA is very intriguing to me. I wanted to be a part of that.”

Kristy Fercho, MBA 2022 Chair, and Executive Vice President and Head of Home Lending with Wells Fargo, called Rocco “an incredible partner” for the past year as MBA Chair-elect.

“Matt is very focused on advancing the initiatives of the organization and working with members to ensure they are getting the most out of MBA,” Fercho said. “He is engaging, committed, and a consummate team player. I’m excited for our members to get to know him better and see his leadership in action.”

Serving as MBA’s 2023 Chair will allow him to “make positive change,” Rocco said. “I really mean that. I want to continue the good work that MBA members do every day. In my opinion, MBA is the stabilizing force that gives its members the most influence in the industry. Also, somewhat selfishly, I just like to be around smart, engaged, and interesting people, and that’s what MBA is made up of. MBA’s leadership and staff are the best and the brightest. They are true stakeholders. It’s truly impressive.” 

As an MBA Future Leaders Program alumnus, Rocco noted he makes sure to speak to Future Leaders classes every year. “I’m honored to go back and talk to the next generation of leaders every year,” he said. “We have two events planned for next year. These events are an opportunity for MBA to be a springboard to advance professional matriculation for the next generation of high performers, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

In June, Rocco moderated Voices: Courageous Conversations with Men of Color, the first of a two-part MBA virtual series that allowed a diverse lineup of real estate finance industry leaders to discuss how they got where they are, the challenges they faced, and the added complexity race played in their success.

“This is where the action really matters,” Rocco said. “We can see that in the MBA Home for All Pledge that Kristy Fercho took to the next level after former MBA Chair Susan Stewart started expanding MBA’s minority homeownership focus. This is something that I’m passionate about. In fact, I’m passionate about all of MBA’s outreach, whether it’s Courageous Conversations or the Home for All Pledge or the association’s CONVERGENCE affordable housing initiative. We need decent, safe, affordable housing – whether it’s rental housing or owned housing – to stabilize communities. These things are absolutely foundational.”

Importantly, Rocco noted a commitment to affordable housing cannot be just an MBA Chair’s one-shot, one-year objective. “It needs to be a process,” he said. “It should be something where we put a stake in the ground and build a roadmap to it. We need to hold ourselves accountable so we can measure the success that we ultimately want to achieve.

“I use the term ‘process’ a lot,” Rocco said. “Whether it’s succession planning in your company, growing the next generation of high performers, or helping community leaders get the support they need to help others, these are all things that really need to be processes, not just one-time things.”

Rocco said he looks forward to visiting Nashville for the MBA Annual Convention & Expo. “Nashville represents one of the most exciting, energetic, and dynamic cities in the country,” he said. “I expect that growth will continue. The city has benefited from positive, progressive zoning; it did not have the legacy issues that other cities have had that have impeded their ability to grow.”

Nashville’s “Country Cool” feel attracts both younger people and retirees, Rocco said. “If you’re going to put a stake in the ground, Nashville is one of those markets you look to,” he said. “There are other markets with tremendous opportunities for growth, including where I live today, Charlotte, [as well as] Greenville, Austin, Atlanta, and parts around D.C., but Nashville is a special place. It will likely be attractive for investors, for companies, and for residents for many years to come.”

MBA’s 2023 Chair called the association a “lighthouse” for the real estate finance industry. “It’s critically important in both safety and soundness,” Rocco said. “It’s the hard work that MBA is doing that will actually help Americans at large with safe, decent, affordable housing as well as communications and dynamic business growth.”