Dave Teixeira tells CMP how meeting DLC head Gary Mauris led to an unexpected but rewarding career in the mortgage industry
CMP: What made you first get into the mortgage broker industry?
Dave Teixeira: I kind of fell into the industry. I knew Gary Mauris for a number of years from the community in Coquitlam; we did a number of philanthropic events together and both said we had to work together one day. For eight years before joining DLC, I ran my own boutique public and government relations and communications company. I mostly specialized in political campaigns and communications, but we also did a quarter of our business for no charge for non-profit organizations.
On January 1, 2015, I woke up and thought I needed a change from the political world, so I got in touch with Gary, and a month later I started at DLC as director of public relations and communications. It’s a good fit, and my background gives DLC something they didn’t have in the years previous.
CMP: How would you describe your time in the mortgage industry?
DT: I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been a learning curve on the business side, but in everything I have done in my life, I have always considered myself a student. I always find people who are smarter than me to give me that expert advice.
I have no ego when it comes to doing that. I know what I’m good at, and I know what I’m not good at. I have no problem in reaching out on things I need assistance on. Luckily, at DLC there are a lot of very smart, engaged and experienced people for me to lean on.
CMP: Can you tell us a little bit more about your role and what it entails?
DT: I look after most of the lender and vendor arrangements, communications, and I make sure the media and government are aware of who we are. In the past, a lot of politicians had no idea about what mortgage brokers did and who they were, so I wanted to get our industry more profile.
We have seen that happen. Gary Mauris did a 10-minute interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on CBC, and Gary and I testified before the Standing Committee on Finance about mortgage rules. That was something mortgage professionals didn’t think to do until very recently, and at DLC we have been a little ahead of the curve.
CMP: You were responsible for DLC’s award-winning “We’ve got a mortgage for that” advertising campaign. How did that come about?
DT: After being at DLC for two years, I realized that every Canadian could benefit from the services of a mortgage broker. Whether you have good or bad credit or you are buying your first home or third, brokers can make the burden of finding a mortgage a lot easier. That’s where we got the idea for the campaign.
We then created seven commercials, and it was all about humanizing the business. A lot of the commercials I had seen for mortgage brokers talked about getting the best rate, but that doesn’t pull at the heartstrings or the funny bone, so that’s what we tried to do.
CMP: You’ve also been recognized for your community service efforts. Can you tell us more about those?
DT: When I was a young kid, my parents said I had to do four things: go to school, have a part-time job, do a creative pursuit or a sport, and give back to the community. So for years, I have been doing that. For the past 15 years, I have headed up the Terry Fox Hometown Run, and we have raised over a million dollars for cancer research.
Also, back in 2011, I created a website called Canucks Riots. After the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot, I used my social media and web design skills to bring together images and posts of people bragging about the damage they had caused. The website has been credited by the Vancouver police with identifying more than 150 criminals.
