Joe Cicali has played a major role in advancing the mortgage industry into the digital age through process refinement and software development for multiple leading mortgage and technology companies nationwide. Through the use of automations, Cicali is creating a better home buying experience for all parties — including loan originators, Operations team members, real estate agents, and most importantly, homebuyers — with faster turn times, greater accuracy throughout each step of the loan process, and increased communication at each touchpoint.

Cicali’s forward-thinking approach to the systems that help loan originators drive the housing economy has been instrumental in helping Garden State Home Loans and UMortgage scale their productions over the past year. Implementing automations that guide operations professionals through each step of the loan process, Cicali took the guesswork out of the loan process to streamline workflows and minimize common mistakes.

Upon joining UMortgage, Cicali began a hands-on approach to improve tech systems and processes. The implemented automations streamlined Operations team members’ workflows by removing repeat data entry and creating notifications within UMortgage’s origination software to guide users to the next necessary actions.

Over the last 12 months, Cicali’s systems helped multiple mortgage companies grow in an otherwise shrinking housing market. As CSO of Garden State Home Loans, these efficiencies led the company to produce an average of 600 loans per month with a team of just 50 members via a data-driven approach to origination. In his short time as UMortgage CSO, Cicali’s leadership guided the company to back-to-back record months for funded units and volume as well as a company record $704 million in quarterly volume.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Look outside the box for solutions or innovations. I spent five years working for financial institutions outside of the mortgage industry and gained a lot of insight into the systems and processes they used to find success that hadn’t reached the mortgage industry yet. That perspective is always with me as I constantly try to drive our industry forward.

Name:

Joseph Cicali

Title:

Chief Strategy Officer

Company Name:

UMortgage