Paul Wyner, Chief Solutions Officer, Revolution Mortgage. Key Highlights include: AI in mortgage is an evolution—not a replacement; the biggest shift is from tools to orchestration; lack of adoption is the real risk; AI should augment not replace human roles; and the real opportunity is freeing salespeople to sell.

Pat Polson, SVP, Div. Sales Mgr for NC/VA/TX. Key highlights: retention starts in recruiting, not after the hire; managers must uncover a candidate’s real “why”; day one onboarding must create a “wow” experience; retention requires ongoing manager involvement; and lenders must be honest, intentional, and structured.

Mike Cush, VP of Purchase Strategy, AmeriSave. Key Highlights: removing friction must start with the consumer, not the lender; too much tech is built to help the lender, not improve the customer experience; AI should simplify the process; best place to reduce friction is a the beginning of the home search; and lenders need to rethink their strategy now because AI will change mortgage quickly.

LaTasha, President, NFM Lending. As a lawyer (and a mom of five), LaTasha wanted to write something for her children about making wise decisions, then expanded it into a creative way to teach financial literacy. Key highlights include: money can be used in more than one way; spending is ok—but not all at once; create a simple plan—spending and saving; future—you needs to have options; and making wise money decisions.

John Owens, CEO Primis Mortgage Co. and author. Key highlights include: culture drives long-term success; leadership begins with self-awareness; core values must be authentic and actionable; culture determines performance and strategy and technology depend on culture.

Brad Blumberg, Co-Founder, Aster Key. Key highlights: Trust is the new currency; Consumer Data is treated as “owned” by institutions—and that’s the core problem; Legacy systems are the biggest security liability; Putting consumers in control unlocks both security and growth; and Trust and privacy are untapped marketing and competitive advantages.

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.