Over the last five years, Gary Brownell has helped the company grow from a small lender in 2015 into a major nonbank. He built out a multi-site consumer direct group into a $150-million-a-month operation from the ground up, all while simultaneously leading enterprise-wide marketing and communications. In his current role, Brownell is the principal architect of Home Point Financial’s Home Ownership Platform, which has drawn more than 200,000 active users since its launch in October of 2019. As a spinoff to the Home Ownership Platform, Brownell created the exclusive Customer For Life program, an initiative focused on building relationships with and providing long-term value for mortgage brokers by helping them retain their clients. Since Customer for Life’s launch in 2019, thousands of customers have been reconnected back to their original loan officer. Brownell has taken the lead on working with agencies to challenge the current process of loan origination and streamline the customer experience using customer data on an ongoing basis.

What is one thing you had to overcome to succeed in this industry? 
“Trying to change thinking and strategy in a mortgage environment is uniquely challenging, because so many parts of the industry are deeply entrenched. In my experience, pushing ideas to the table that have no precedent is a massive ongoing challenge, but it’s what I enjoy most.”