Meet the Senior Staff

In response to the Q3 leadership survey, you asked for more information on Sr. Staff members, who they are, what they do and how this group functions.

Currently, there are ten Senior Staff members making up the executive leadership of Open Mortgage. They are:

• Scott Gordon, Founder and CEO
• Tana Gordon, COO and VP Marketing
• Tony Nolte, CFO and General Counsel
• Greg Block, Chief Wholesale Lending Officer and VP of M&A
• Brian Roe, VP of Retail Sales
• Lucas Allen, SVP Forward Operations
• Nick Whitten, VP of Capital Markets
• Laura Kardow, VP of Compliance
• Daniel Stock, VP of Technology
• Joanna Nolte, VP of Human Resources

We are recruiting for one role:

• VP Reverse Operations

Information on each of the leaders can be found on the Open Mortgage website.

A critical aspect of the role of Senior Staff is collaborating with other team members to ensure alignment of all areas of the business. The team meets each Tuesday morning to discuss high priority company issues and agree on actions to address them.

Scott runs the meetings, and manages the agenda. Senior Staff members add items to the agenda prior to the meeting. Meetings are held via video conferencing.

There are several standing agenda items at the start of each meeting to ensure we satisfy compliance concerns and report any known issues, do a status check on our warehouse lending lines, and highlight the top people issues such as recognition, hiring activity, COVID updates, etc. Agenda items added by the team are ranked in importance to ensure the highest priority issues get addressed first.

Occasionally, we have educational items or ask guest staff members to present information on key projects or areas of expertise.

Each month, we make video updates to share with field and corporate staff in the “Monthly Sales Video” and PULSE newsletter updates. With new CORE functionality, each area of the company has a department page where news articles or important alerts can be found.

Each year in the fall, the group meets to strategize and develop company-wide goals for the following year. Typically these meetings are held off-site, and before COVID, those located remotely would travel to meet face-to-face. Following this planning meeting, each leader develops functional or departmental goals that support the overall company-wide goals, and records these more detailed supporting goals. We call these “rocks”. The Senior Staff members meet on a quarterly basis to check our progress toward our objectives, and make adjustments as needed.

Being a Senior Staff member requires a servant-leader attitude, listening to others, and making the best decisions on behalf of the company. It also requires addressing the issues of today, while making and executing plans to minimize risk and maximize value for Open Mortgage in the years to come. If you have questions about Senior Staff, feel free to reach out to any of us. We encourage your feedback and questions.

"My business cards actually say “Defender of the faith”. I consider it my responsibility to lead our definition of our culture, and make sure everyone shares our culture. Besides who we are, I think a lot about where we need to go to thrive. The mortgage industry is changing and we need to change at least as fast to survive and thrive. I need to lead the work to develop our path forward to more technology, more efficiency, and stronger exposure in the digital real estate world."

What was your most memorable vacation experience?

Just before I got married to Tana I went on a 30-day motorcycle trip across 10 countries in Europe. So many people were so welcoming. We saw London, Amsterdam, East Berlin, St Bernard pass, the French Riviera, and Barcelona to name a few. We even got to stay at a tiny hotel inside the walled city of Carcassonne. We pulled off the road to drink some water and a tractor went by pulling a trailer of grapes. It hit us that we were standing in the Provence region of France during harvest. It was a great adventure.

Describe your family and what you like to do together.

Tana and I have 2 sons, Dex 17 and Max 20. We have taken them to interesting places like Iceland, Greenland, and the Scandinavian countries. It has been great to share the experience of places that are so different from our lives at home. We also have a cabin in Montana, and we love to go up there for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.

What is some advice you’d give to people earlier on in their careers?

I was a member of Vistage for 6 years. Vistage is a CEO coaching group. I encourage anyone in business to join groups that can help them grow their business acumen and management skills. Read books, or listen to them on your tablet. Ted and TedX videos are amazing! Never stop learning. Volunteer to take on new responsibilities. Learn and practice!

"As COO, and co-owner, it’s my responsibility to help guide and make decisions for the company based on our culture and values, and help keep staff accountable for company, departmental, and individual goals that support our mission of helping more families achieve the dream of homeownership. I work to ensure that people like their jobs, and enjoy working for Open Mortgage. I think I also add value with humor, and lots of memes. Some might say too many memes, but honestly, is there such a thing?"

What was your most memorable vacation experience?

"Stopping at a roadside stand in beautiful Bora Bora and getting a tattoo of a sea turtle on my ankle. The tattoo artist’s name was Olson, and he was the son of an island girl and a military man from South Dakota."

Do you have any defining moments in your life?

"Deciding to quit my job as managing editor of a newspaper in my hometown in eastern Montana and move to Mountain View, California. I stayed with a friend I met in college while I found a job. If I hadn’t done that, I never would have met Scott, and we never would have moved to Austin and started a mortgage company!"

What do you love about your role?

"I love working with all the people at Open Mortgage. We have some amazing and dedicated employees, and I think we’re building something special."

"As CFO and General Counsel my focus is on the foundations of the Company. We need to show a strong compliance structure in the industry that we operate in, and that includes making sure that we follow both external regulations and rules plus our internal policies. On the finance side, we want to be able to understand the Key Performance Indicators that drive company growth and performance. By finding the right KPIs, we can align the business strategy and operations to ensure maximum profitability and longevity for the Company. As a leader I am first focused on helping my team however I possibly can. I ask my team to think on their own, to always bring possible solutions with the problems they want to discuss, and to not be afraid to make a mistake. Learning is something we should all do throughout our lives."

What was your most memorable vacation experience?

"My family and my parents went to Anguilla for a week, I scuba dived for the first time, and then when we were back in Houston my dad was honored at the Dynamo 4th of July game for his military service and he and my mom were very moved."

Do you have any “defining moments” in your life?

"Early in my career a boss scoffed at my desire to further my education and said 'If you get into law school, the Company will pay for it'. I got in, they paid, the rest is history...I enjoyed law school and it really helped with my thought process relating to business matters."

What is some advice you’d give to people earlier on in their careers?

"Go seek out change - ask for diverse assignments - meet people outside of your company."

"My current role has me overseeing our forward and reverse wholesale and correspondent sales team which includes working with Brokers and Correspondent Partners, Community Banks, and Credit Unions. We have a dedicated team of account executives, loan account managers, and support staff, which allows us to continue growing the business. The great thing about the mortgage industry is, we learn something new about our industry every day."

How do you like to exercise?

"I have enjoyed participating in sports and have been active my entire life. I have played many various competitive sports from tennis, softball, baseball, racquetball, golf, and hockey. I still play tennis, golf, hockey, ski, and enjoy working out when I can."

Do you have pets?

"I have had pet’s my entire life; I have had everything from a pet squirrel, to pet snakes, spiders, cats, and dogs. We currently have two dogs, Scooter and Lucky. Scooter is a Cavapoo and Lucky is a boxer mix. As you would guess Lucky is very energetic and active and Scooter loves to snuggle."

What do you love about your Role?

"I have been in the mortgage business for over 20 years and have enjoyed managing various departments throughout my career. I have been with Open Mortgage for over 10 years and what I love about my current role or any role I have had for that matter is working with people, improving processes, increasing sales, and solving problems."

"In a nutshell, I’m responsible for managing and growing our forward and reverse branch network as well as the Corporate Sales Support teams that serve our branches. My teams focus on 3 primary things: 1) supporting our branch managers and originators in their day-to-day efforts to run their branches and originate loans, 2) helping our originators grow their production, and 3) growing the number of branches and originators we have at Open."

What do you love about your role?

"The challenge of it all, really. It’s fun to be part of a company that’s growing on all fronts. But it forces me to grow, too. We have new and interesting challenges to solve constantly as we work to build a better and better model for our branches, a better support engine for our originators, and to build the sales team itself - all while striving to continually deliver a great experience for our customers and business partners. It’s fun to have a hand in that, and it’s really exciting to see the impacts when our originators experience breakthroughs and more success being here at Open."

Favorite Season?

"Fall. The weather here is still warm, but not too hot, which is nice. But the biggest reason is because it’s the most wonderful time of the year -- college football season! Go Dawgs!"

Pets?

"I often tell people I married Elly May Clampett. For years we had 4 cats and a dog, all living inside with us. They’ve all passed away now, but I think my daughter carries the same genes as my wife. Today we have a dog and 2 six-month-old kittens. And *almost* every day she brings up that we need another cat, or a dog, or a horse, or, of course, a unicorn."

"I believe the best way to describe me is that I am an open, honest, hardworking, and fun person that loves to work w/people that also understands this industry very well having done many roles during my time in it. And I get the opportunity to work and interact with people every day and get an opportunity to impact their lives which is an amazing blessing."

What is your favorite season?

"Fall for sure. Weather here in Carolinas cools off a bit but still beautiful, football season, and amazing patio spots to hang out at during this time of year."

If you weren’t doing what you are now, what other career would you choose?

"I would be a sports agent or announcer. I have a huge love for all things sports, stats, and actually went to college as a Communication major with the intent to go into one of these fields. I even interned at a radio station locally to my college."

What do you love about your Role?

"I love that I get to impact and grow people. I love helping people meet or exceed their career or personal goals. Either be it my direct team or indirectly with sales folks helping them achieve career years or personal goals they have."

"My role is to limit our interest rate risk while offering the most robust product line available with limited headaches. Part of that is searching out investors and part of that is making sure we sell our loans quickly. I have an incredible team that allows me to focus on the details that allow us to be as profitable as possible.

I think the biggest value I bring to the company is that I have been a loan officer so I am able to understand what loan officers are looking for. I am always willing to listen and learn."

How do you like to exercise or do you have a favorite hobby?

"I really enjoy jiu-jitsu. I normally go 4 to 5 times a week. Keeps me in shape without realizing I am exercising. I have both of my sons doing it as well and my wife works out in the Fitness Kickboxing class that they offer so we are all doing it together."

Describe your family and what you like to do together.

"We love to travel. Anytime we can find some time to get away together, we do. Most of the time it ends up somewhere near a beach but we love the mountains as well."

What is some advice you’d give to people earlier on in their careers?

"Don’t be scared to speak up. If you have ideas or suggestions that could help, let your supervisor know. Most great ideas come from those that do the tasks daily."

"As VP of Compliance, I have always stated that it is sales that brings in the business, and it is my department’s responsibility to keep Open in business. Through all the numerous state and agency examinations, we strive to ensure Open is conducting business in accord with state and federal regulations. We identify risk and sometimes have to weigh the risk/reward aspects. Our department is here to help Open close loans and promote the business goals within compliance guidelines."

Where have you NOT been yet but want to visit?

"Our family has always been drawn to the beach. Growing up, my family had a “Bay House” at Port Mansfield, TX. It has always been known for its great fishing, but we just loved being at the water. Through the years, as adults, we have always spent time at the Texas Gulf either at South Padre, Port Aransas or Galveston. However, I have always wanted to visit Destin, Florida. Unlike the Texas coast, this location is above the Mississippi River that dumps mud into the Gulf. The waters are supposed to be more clear and the beaches more pristine. I’m looking forward to exploring that coastline, but Texas will always be my home."

Do you have a pets? Please describe.

"We have always been dog people. We’ve loved many animals over the years. They’ve ranged from a big yellow lab named Rufus, that lived to hunt quail, to a rescue dog that our daughter left for us to raise. Small or large, they have always been a source of comfort. Currently, we are between dogs, but hopefully, we will have another member of our family to brag about."

What is some advice you’d give to people earlier on in their careers?

"I would tell people that are earlier in their career not to be afraid to try new things. I taught school for almost 20 years, and now I’ve been in the mortgage industry for almost 20 years. I’ve been on the real estate side, the processing side and even the loan origination side of the industry. All of those experiences helped me to now be the VP of Compliance. So, my advice would be to never feel trapped and never stop learning!"

"Here at Open Mortgage, the Technology staff is required to wear a lot of different hats from resetting a password to building new borrower portals. However, I think that the most important value that we add is in reviewing processes with teams to find ways to automate tools and reporting. This way a staff member can spend time figuring out why a number is off instead of finding the number that’s off. Or spend time with customers on the phone instead of trying to upload the same document into 3 different systems."

Do you have a favorite hobby?

"As of right now, I’d say my favorite hobby is doing Cub Scouts with my son and his Den of Wolves."

If you weren’t doing what you are now, what other career would you choose?

"Running a B&B in Italy where I make my own wine, bread, and olive oil for my guests to enjoy out on the patio!"

What do you love about your role?

"My favorite thing about Technology is finding new ways to make things easier. There is always some change or improvement out there that lets you take out the mundane and allow people to really get into the meat of their job to do what makes them happy."

"As head of Human Resources, my job is to ensure that we attract, retain, and develop the people we need to successfully operate the company - both now and in the foreseeable. This includes helping to create a performance culture and ensuring people are fairly rewarded. I also work to ensure that our values are reflected in our culture and behaviors. We are a people business, and we need the talents and skills of the entire Open Mortgage team to achieve our goals.

Moving into 2021, HR will continue to recruit more talent to help us achieve our growth goals, improve onboarding to help people get up to speed quickly, and continue to develop individuals throughout the organization by focusing on development including leadership skills.

Through my conversations with people in all parts of the Company, I learn more about what’s working well and what areas need improvement. I welcome your feedback and suggestions!"

What was your most memorable vacation experience?

"SCUBA diving with the giant manta ray’s on the Big Island of Hawaii was an amazing experience. We had about 20 giant ray’s cruising (inches) over our heads for about an hour while a “friendly” eel hung out by our side. The rays were beautiful - out of this world."

Family pet?

"We have Occicat named Marshall who bosses us around at home. COVID has been a blessing for him since he hates to be alone. However, we hear about his frequent hunger pains or need for someone to play with him throughout the day."

Advice for those starting their careers

"No matter what your job, it’s really important to understand how the business works and what makes it profitable. Spend a little time every so often and talk with others in different departments and ask you should know about function. Doing this will help you do your job better and understand the impact you have on others and the company’s success."