Geoff Willis
Newton Connectivity Systems

Like many mortgage professionals, Geoff Willis came from the banking world. He started his career in 1989 with First Line Mortgages, moved on to found MortgageFinders, then worked at TD Canada Trust for the next 10 years. He was also involved in the creation of Origin Mortgages in 2006, where he continues to serve as managing partner and chief enthusiasm officer. He is also chief enthusiasm officer at Otto. The 30-year veteran is a steadfast believer that technology is crucial for today’s borrower and mortgage broker. He also says the latter will never be supplanted. “It’s about being considerate and developing the right things,” he said. “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.” Under his leadership Newton Connectivity Systems was named the Industry Service Provider of the Year at the 2020 Canadian Mortgage Awards.