Andrea Hall
SVP, Operations at United Wholesale Mortgage
LENDING | AGE: 31
United Wholesale Mortgage reported impressive results in 2016, growing loan volume by 77% to become the No. 1 wholesale mortgage lender in the country.
That growth was facilitated by employees like Andrea Hall, senior vice president of operations at United Wholesale Mortgage, who leads a team of 300 people with passion and purpose. In the course of one year, the 31-year old and her team improved efficiency and output by 50%, a major factor in UWM’s $23 billion in loan volume.
Hall centralized the mortgage insurance ordering process, which decreased the time spent on each loan from 10 minutes to four minutes, saving more than 8,000 hours of production time in one year. Ultimately, Hall led her teams to successfully service and close 320 daily loan volume levels on average, a number that was previously typical of the last week of a month.
Hall got her start in the mortgage business by working at a bank, then found an entry-level mortgage opportunity at a local office headquarters. She has worked in the industry for 12 years, serving as both director of operations and vice president of capital markets at UWM before being promoted to her current role.
HousingWire, which featured Hall on its June 2017 cover, asked her about what drives her success.
Q. The Rising Stars program recognizes people in our industry who have accomplished a lot at a relatively young age. What has been one of the habits that has helped you succeed?
One of the mantras I’ve lived by is “You are entirely up to you.” I’ve always believed that each of us, as individuals, is in control of our own path, our own success and our own future. Don’t wait around for opportunity, create your own. I’ve always sought out every chance I could to learn something new, or to be a part of something big that I’m passionate about. I’m grateful that leaders throughout my career were willing to teach me and let me be a part of as much as I wanted and could contribute to.
Q. What are some of the things you learned as you built up your team and now lead 300 people?
A. Think and approach your process and all aspects of your business as if you are your own client. Be your own disruptor. Make sure your team understands their “why,” their impact. The team has to understand that what they are doing is important and the work matters. It’s not a task, it’s a client. It’s not just a job, it’s a career to grow. Leaders remind people about the big picture.
Q. What excites you about your job and this industry?
It’s constantly evolving! It’s exciting. Our operations team gets the unique opportunity to touch every loan that comes through the door, so that’s a lot of chances to impact a client, make a dream come true and place another building block on a career path for someone.
