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Bill Cosgrove – Growing a Company from $58m to $1B+

In this episode, David interviews Bill Cosgrove of Union Home Mortgage.

Bill’s mortgage banking career began in 1986 as a residential loan officer. In 1994 Mr. Cosgrove joined Union Home Mortgage Corp. and in 1998 was named President. Mr. Cosgrove purchased and became 100% stockholder of the company in 1999. The company has grown from 58 million to over 1 billion dollars of loan production during Bill’s leadership of the company. Union Home has built from its roots in Cleveland to a nationally recognized growth company.

 

 

In 2015, Bill served as MBA Chairman. Mr. Cosgrove has testified on behalf of the industry in Washington D. C before the House Financial Services Sub Committee and Senate Banking Committee. He has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, numerous trade publications, and local and national news networks. Bill is also a proud father of three children and a loving husband. His family is very important to him and he enjoys spending quality time with them amongst his active work schedule.

Topics Covered in this Episode:

  1. Listen: Learning so much in my early years of business.
  2. Listen: Some of the challenges in the mortgage business in the early years.
  3. Listen: How do you identify world-class people to work in your business?
  4. Listen: Our 10-point code of conduct creating our company values.
  5. Listen: Growing operations from 300 people to over 1000 people.
  6. Listen: Growing a company beyond your level of expertise.
  7. Listen: How to handle the ups and downs in the mortgage industry.
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Gary Ort, former president of Texas Capital Bank’s Mortgage Finance

Gary Ort is the former president of Texas Capital Bank’s Mortgage Finance division and previously held senior level leadership positions on a local, regional and national levels. 

One of Gary's strengths has been in helping others with their own strategic leadership goals.

Gary has over 45 years of financial services experience, including senior management and leadership positions in mortgage banking production, servicing and operations. In various leadership positions he has led organizations in a startup, planned and guided reorganization of mortgage banks and managed significant national growth.

Gary retired from Texas Capital Bank in June 2017 as President of the Mortgage Finance Division. He was responsible for the growth of the division into one of the largest warehouse lenders in the nation and led the development of several market leading products to serve the mortgage banking industry.

Learn more about Gary and his corporate consultant work at Ainsworth Advisors.

Topics Covered in this Interview:

  1. Listen:  Key to success? Hire people smarter than you.
  2. Listen:  The top characteristics of great leaders.
  3. Listen:  Inspired by a great leader named Winston Churchill.
  4. Listen:  Gary talks about the reason for his success, his wife.
  5. Listen:  There are two top characteristics every great leader has...
  6. Listen:  Two things that just kill a leader.
  7. Listen:  Create amazing culture at your work place.
  8. Listen:  One of the challenges facing leaders today.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Start With Why - Simon Sinek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources Mentioned in the Episode: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

 

 

 

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Joe Murin – Past President of Ginnie Mae

Past president of Ginnie Mae, co-founder of The Collingwood Group, and corporate consultant at Ainsworth Advisors.

Joseph J. Murin is currently the Chairman Emeritus of Chrysalis Holdings LLC and the Chairman of JJAM Financial Services LLC.  Mr. Murin joined ANC Acquisitions LP in July 2011 as its CEO.

"If you keep moving forward, the doors will open..."

ANC is a Fortress Investment Group financial services company founded to provide products and services to the financial services industry.  ANC specialized in the areas of mortgage lending, mortgage servicing, asset-based lending, compliance, and analytics.

"The $300 million lesson I learned in the mid-80s..."

He is the former Chairman and Co-founder of The Collingwood Group LLC.  The Collingwood Group’s primary focus is in the financial services sector and offers business advisory services combined with access to decision makers, financial sponsors, corporate boards, and senior industry executives.

"People who are afraid of change are people who are doomed..."

Prior to co-founding The Collingwood Group, Mr. Murin was President of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). He led the transformation of Ginnie Mae through a difficult time in the housing and mortgage arenas and provided much needed liquidity to the industry as it grew its portfolio from $350 billion to $840 billion.

"One mistake that new leaders may seem to make repeatedly..."

Mr. Murin brings more than 40 years of diverse experience in the financial services, mortgage, and banking industries and experience that included the position of CEO of several large financial organizations.  He and his wife, Angela, reside in Pittsburgh and have two daughters and five grandchildren.

More Excerpts from this interview with Joe Murin:

  1. "Perhaps the Key to Success..."
  2. "Every day I would walk the building..."
  3. "The opportunity to run a Government Agency..."
  4. "Great leaders are humble people..."
  5. "Why do opportunities open up..."
  6. "People are our best assets..."
  7. "Look to the real world..."
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John Robbins, a leader in mortgage banking

John Robbins is a longtime leader in the American mortgage banking industry.

He founded and operated several national companies over the course of his 35+ year career, selling two of them to large banking corporations.

He served as the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association in 2006-2007, leading the organization during one of the industry’s most tumultuous eras, and continues to be active in MBA.

He started in the industry as a loan officer and has remained in the business over his entire career.

Click to check out some of the highlights from this interview with John Robbins:

"One of your best attributes is your humility..."

"How to motivate people to achieve a goal..."

"I had one CEO who provided a negative inspiration..."

"The one quality a leader needs to have..."

"One of the challenges for new leaders is their ability to discern right from wrong..."

"Great leaders are made, they're not born..."

 

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Jan Wetzel of Wetzel-Trott, A Leader in Quality Control

(Ms. Jan Wetzel - Executive bio is provided by Bloomberg.com)

Ms. Jan Wetzel founded Wetzel Trott, Inc. in 1985 and served as its Chief Executive Officer.

Ms. Wetzel’s extensive underwriting and management background started in 1978 and put her on course to start one of the country’s leading Quality Control firms.

"Qualities Great Leaders Need to Have..." - click to listen to an excerpt from our interview with Jan Wetzel

She has helped hundreds of banks, mortgage companies and credit unions develop and implement comprehensive quality control plans in accordance with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, The Department of HUD and VA requirements.

Her focus on quality allowed her to build a team with combined mortgage experience of over 125 years to handle more than one hundred fifty customers in twenty-two states.

"A Reason Why Many Leaders Fail..." - click to listen to an excerpt from our interview with Jan Wetzel

In 1998, she designed and wrote the “QuiC” software program to manage the entire closed loan review process from document tracking through management reporting. She has molded the information from over 200,000 loan reviews into QuiC to create an extensive fraud database that provides trend analysis reporting and unparalleled protection for her clients. She also created a Servicing Quality Control division within Wetzel Trott.

Her specialized services cover audits on everything from investor accounting, escrow analysis, loss mitigation, foreclosure, FHA and VA requirements.

"Advice for Anyone Getting Started in Leadership..." click to listen to an excerpt from our interview with Jan Wetzel

Ms. Wetzel served as Director at Indecomm-Mortgage U. She was the President of the Southeast Chapter of Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association (MMLA). She serves on the Board of Governors for Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association. Ms. Wetzel serves on the Board of Directors for COTS (The Coalition for Temporary Shelter) in Detroit. She participates in the FNMA Risk Management Advisory Council. She was the 1997 recipient of the MMLA James T. Barnes Award for her exemplary contributions to the mortgage industry. Ms. Wetzel is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and received her Bachelors Degree in Communication in 1978.

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Jack Guttentag, Mortgage Professor



Lykken On Leadership is a weekly podcast that interviews Real Estate and Mortgage Industry leaders.

Our guest in Episode #2 is Jack M. Guttentag, now Professor of Finance Emeritus, formerly Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Earlier he was Chief of the Domestic Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on the senior staff of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and managing editor of both the Journal of Finance (1974-77) and the Housing Finance Review (1983-89).

Professor Guttentag has been a student of the home loan market for many years, and his bibliography of scholarly articles, books and monographs is large and diverse. He has also been an active practitioner, serving as a consultant to many government agencies and private financial institutions, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USAID, Freddie Mac, Citicorp, Dominion Bancshares, the World Bank, J.P. Morgan Securities, the New Zealand Bankers Association, and many others. In addition, he has been a director of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Guild Mortgage Investments, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester.

Throughout his career, Professor Guttentag has been concerned with the difficulties faced by consumers in the home loan market. In 1985 he joined with Gerald Hurst, a colleague at Wharton, to found GHR Systems, Inc. which developed a nationwide electronic network that lenders use to deliver complex mortgage information quickly to loan-officer employees, mortgage brokers, and consumers using the internet. The company also provided easy-to-use tools that enabled loan officers to act as consultants to borrowers during the origination process, while speeding up the process. In August, 2005, GHR was purchased by Metavante Corporation.

In 1997 Professor Guttentag began to phase out his teaching at Wharton to focus his efforts more fully toward helping consumers navigate the home loan market effectively. He began a weekly column on mortgages that is nationally syndicated, initially by Tribune News, currently by Tribune News Services, and began the development of this web site. The major purpose of both is to help consumers make better decisions. He published The Pocket Mortgage Guide in 2003 and The Mortgage Encyclopedia in 2004, with a second edition in 2010; all were published by McGraw Hill.

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David Stevens, CEO of MBA

 

David Stevens is President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Prior to assuming this position, Dave served as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Dave has more than 30 years of experience in mortgage finance and has held several executive level positions in sales, acquisition, investment, risk management and regulatory oversight, including positions in senior management with Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac and World Savings. Prior to his appointment by the Obama Administration to serve at HUD, Dave was President and COO of the Long and Foster Companies.

He is known inside the beltway as a key housing influential; serving as an industry authority on major mortgage finance legislative and regulatory issues. Dave is often quoted in the national and trade media and regularly appears on television and radio to offer insight on issues affecting the mortgage and housing markets.

In 2013, Dave received the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) Founders Award, presented to individuals that have distinguished themselves by their work in support of sustainable Hispanic homeownership to improve the quality of life for Hispanics in America. He has been named to Bloomberg's "50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate" list, and twice recognized as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders" by Inman News. Dave was also named to Mortgage Professional America's "The Hot 100 List."

He currently serves on the board of MBA Opens Doors Foundation, MBA's national 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization for philanthropic ventures, and as an advisory board member of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America's Families.

Dave is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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Beth Millstein, the former Director of Business Development for Fannie Mae and now Principal of Millstein Consulting

"A leader is someone who makes something happen that wouldn't have happened otherwise."

That's one of many great quotes from this interview with Beth Millstein!

In this Lykken on Leadership interview you'll hear how Beth shares his story from being in the HR department and successfully "growing" and developing her path into becoming the Fannie Mae Director of Business Development with her 35+ year career in the mortgage industry!

It's an inspiring story, and one where Beth shares loads of wisdom along the way!

Fannie Mae Director of Business Development

Beth Millstein was Fannie Mae’s Director of Business Development within Single Family Business where her team was responsible for sourcing, evaluating and sponsoring new customer relationships. She and her team helped lenders assess eligibility and readiness to sustain a relationship with Fannie Mae. Beth also managed Fannie Mae’s national affinity and trade association business to business relationships.

Beth was with Fannie Mae for over 25 years and has held a variety of roles including managing hundreds of small lender relationships and developing business strategies to serve small lenders. As a certified Human Resources Professional, she managed recruiting, human resource management and employee business training for several of Fannie Mae’s divisions.

Mortgage Industry Experience in Capital Markets

Beth came to Fannie Mae with more than a decade of experience in mortgage banking and capital markets, having worked for a variety of lenders in the mid-Atlantic region.

Topics covered in this Interview

Listen: A leader is someone who makes something happen that wouldn't have happened otherwise...
Listen: Taking initiative to step into new opportunities...
Listen: Following your passion in order to make a difference in the world...
Listen: Mentoring and thinking through the next steps in your career...
Listen: Qualities of good leadership - confidence, humility, inspiring others, communication...
Listen: Businesses will need to reimagine how they work and how they interact with their employees...
Listen: Leadership is a learned skill. If you don't fail, you're not pushing enough...
Listen: Consulting and working with Lenders to help them get approved by Fannie Mae...