I’m responsible for overseeing quality assurance (QA) servicing and escrow administration, which also entails insurance and taxes. The bulk of my work is overseeing loan servicing-related challenges to ensure we’re giving our customers the best service possible. There’s also the data governance part of my role that’s technology-focused, where we work with our lender technology team to implement and develop solutions for all of Lument’s internal reporting systems.
I really like solving problems, and I’ve had the benefit of working in both technology and servicing within commercial real estate lending since 1998. The complexity of the work we do here means there’s never a shortage of issues to resolve. One of the facets of my job that I enjoy most is working with our different business units – including origination, servicing, and asset management – to help them use and enhance systems that make our processes more efficient. There’s always a list of challenges to tackle, which makes every day different and interesting.
Lument’s corporate culture is unique in that everyone here is really trying to be the best they can be by constantly seeking better ways to both serve our clients and differentiate ourselves in the marketplace. We do that by investing heavily in technology to optimize our efficiency, so that we can deliver top-quality service and products. Our people are another advantage – we genuinely want to be here. Many of us have worked together for a long time, and we have each other’s backs – we’re always willing to collaborate to achieve the best results for our customers. In my experience, many companies don’t emphasize that kind of teamwork.
Another differentiator is the way the company encourages entrepreneurial thinking, especially regarding the technology that drives Lument. We’ve been able to implement best-in-class systems because executive management supports using technology to improve our efficiency company-wide. One example is the Microsoft Power Business Reporting (BI) framework, which was something that I really wanted the company to excel in early on. Figuring out how to make it happen was the hard part, but we got it done. I’ve always believed that by better connecting our tools and systems, we could unlock more value for everyone. It’s a vision that Jim Flynn and others have consistently supported. That was the driving force behind developing Polaris, a proprietary asset management platform that we built internally with our lender technology team and launched in 2023.
Helping to create Polaris ranks among the accomplishments I’m most proud of, as does an earlier project I was tasked with during the corporate transition from one of our predecessor companies to Lument. We needed to hire 60 people to replace a bank we used as a sub-servicer. Working with Barry Fuller and other managers, we rebuilt the entire servicing platform from a personnel standpoint, which was no small task. I feel great about the teams we’ve created – and bringing that loan servicing function completely in-house has been a differentiator for Lument.
My advice to my colleagues who are just starting out at Lument is to be curious. I think when people begin their career, they often focus solely on what they’re asked to do. But in my experience, you’re curious and go a step further by asking questions, that’s when new opportunities come along. You begin to understand how other parts of the business operate and impact your role, and that additional perspective helps you grow. And you might even discover another facet of the business that you’re more interested in.
Many people are surprised to learn that my undergraduate degree was in theater – they wonder how I ended up working in commercial finance. My father was an accountant, and like many young people, I wanted to rebel and do something completely different. Then I realized it would be hard to pay the bills, as I couldn’t envision moving to California to be an actor. I did some shows, but I was more interested in the tech side of things – including makeup. One of my major claims to fame is that I was once one of the head makeup artists on a Blues Traveler music video.
