Dave Savage, Chief Growth Officer, TrustEngine & Founder, Mortgage Coach. Highlights include: real competitive edge comes from identifying and addressing consumer needs—even before the consumer is fully aware they have them; success requires delivering data-driven insights directly to LOs in simple, mobile-first formats with scripts and tools to act immediately; top producers differentiate by getting in front of the customer earlier—before they’ve engaged a referral partner; the industry underinvests in financial literacy, waiting until buyers are in their 30s or 40s; and the modern LO must evolve beyond transaction processing to educator and presenter. The future belongs to mortgage professionals who combine data + education + proactive engagement to reach borrowers at their true Speed to Need.

Dave Savage, Chief Growth Officer, TrustEngine & Founder of Mortgage Coach. Highlights include: discussion of transactional training vs advisory model; the trap of price and rate thinking; leadership’s role; the LO as wealth advisor and the use of technology in the future. The illiterate of 2025 and beyond will not be those who can’t read/write but those who can’t unlearn old practices and relearn new ones.

Rich Weidel, CEO, Princeton Mortgage. Highlights include: industry profitability challenges; misalignment across the organization; productivity as the key driver of cost; cultural and leadership issues and path forward: transparency and smaller profitable teams. Rich has been recognized as the 2019 Most Admired CEO Award – Philly and National Mortgage Professional Top 40 Under 40.

Randell Gillespie, President, LeaderOne Financial. Highlights include: true sales entrepreneurship requires initiative, risk and ownership; avoid the “herd mentality”; managers must foster a “retailpreneur” culture; leadership demands selflessness and coaching and long-term industry growth depends on trust, talent quality and purpose. Randell has been in the mortgage industry for over 25 years.

Bernard Nossuli, COO, iEmergent. Highlights include: minority homebuyers will drive future growth; denial rates are higher for diverse borrowers; data-driven targeting is the new competitive advantage; most lenders lack a forward-looking strategy and market opportunities are being missed due to outdated assumptions. iEmergent is a forecasting, analytics, and advisory company for the mortgage industry.

Andrew Panagos, President, GO Mortgage. Highlights include: mortgage business model is outdated and needs reinvention; senior leadership faces an innovation gap; recruiting young talent requires a different strategy; consumer behavior has fundamentally changed and earn-out and transition models could bridge the talent gap. Andrew has over 27 years of executive leadership.

Jesse Allen, President, Rate. Highlights include: reverse mortgages--niche to necessity; regulatory reforms have made reverse mortgages safer; distribution and awareness are the biggest constraints and future growth requires innovation in tech, training and messaging.

Brian Boyles, National Sales Manager, Middleton Advisory Group. Highlights include: recruiting is still the #1 priority but needs a smarter approach; compensation is over-discussed; leadership quality and culture drive recruiting decisions; the industry is litigious and lacking flexibility; and aging workforce & lack of succession planning is a ticking time bomb. Brian has spent over 25 years in the mortgage banking industry.

Jerry Rader, SVP, Strategic Growth & Development, ALCOVA Mortgage. Highlights include: face-to-face communication builds trust; incentivizing retention with shared upside; retention requires a post-sale strategy; cultural fit beats highest bid and respecting people as stakeholders is the #1 retention lever. Jerry has been in the mortgage industry for over 30 years.

Brian Vieaux, President & COO, FinLocker. Highlights include: point of thought matters; hybrid sales model; trusted financial educator; customer centric stories and franchise with no rules. Brian has been in the industry for over 30 years.