Geoff Willis may have one of the most unheralded jobs in the mortgage industry, but rest assured that brokers, lenders and borrowers are thankful he’s leading Newton Connectivity Systems
To understand Newton Connectivity System’s impressive trajectory, one has to understand its President and CEO Geoff Willis’s decision to join the Dominion Lending Centres network.
In particular, the 30-year veteran says the network provides unparalleled reach.
“One of the other things I learned is because as brokers we deal with big institutions with their own legacy systems, we’re probably, as an industry, a little behind the rest of the world with how we use technology because we have to be connected to these lenders in order to do our job, and sometimes their systems are somewhat antiquated. So even though we have a good idea, it really doesn’t translate into a better customer experience with our lenders. They’re sometimes in a different pace sometimes. It’s changing but it’s been an issue for a while.”
Like many mortgage professionals, Willis came from the banking world. Beginning his career in 1989 with First Line Mortgages, and then moving on to found MortgageFinders, Willis would eventually spend time with TD Canada Trust. He was also involved in the creation of Origin Mortgages.
However, throughout three-decade career Willis understood the need for streamlined technological solutions like the ones Newton has developed.
“One of the other things I learned is because as brokers we deal with big institutions with their own legacy systems, we’re probably, as an industry, a little behind the rest of the world with how we use technology because we have to be connected to these lenders in order to do our job, and sometimes their systems are somewhat antiquated. So even though we have a good idea, it really doesn’t translate into a better customer experience with our lenders. They’re sometimes in a different pace sometimes. It’s changing but it’s been an issue for a while.”
Willis is a steadfast believer that technology is crucial for today’s borrower and mortgage broker. Moreover, he says the latter will never be supplanted.
“Especially when in so many other areas of their life, it seems like technology has really supported them, but then they come to this other industry, the mortgage industry, and it feels slow and antiquated,” he said.
“It’s about being considerate and developing the right things. You have to make sure that your customers can avail themselves to all the tools available to them, but still give them that choice to deal with a person whenever they want. The key is to make sure you’re using technology as a tool, but that you don’t create it as a barrier for the people interaction that needs to take place because the number of zeroes involved in the purchase of real estate or a mortgage make people trepidatious already, so they need to know someone has their back.”
