Robert D’Urbano joined Freedom Mortgage in 2005 and guides the development of system improvements and assuring operational readiness of all corporate systems.
He has more than 35 years of experience providing leadership and lasting competitive solutions in the financial services industry. D’Urbano has presided over significant growth within his organization, including an astonishing 38% increase in information technology staffing over the last 12 months. The team now consists of 397 employees.
D’Urbano and his team have overseen the design, development and delivery of new technology solutions that have enabled Freedom Mortgage to double the originations volume year over year. These solutions include Freedom Mortgage’s proprietary STREAM Loan Automation Suite, which has automated much of the mortgage processing lifecycle.
By using robotics and workflow technologies combined with the Lakewood loan origination system, the team created efficiencies for customers, loan originators and operation staff to streamline the loan manufacturing process. In June, Freedom Mortgage originated more than $11 billion in loans. During this phenomenal growth, the pandemic struck. In less than one week in March, as the COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates began, D’Urbano and his team enabled approximately 5,000 employees to efficiently work from home. That represented 98% of the company’s workforce. This swift move included the hard work of transitioning essential personnel to operate like a factory, with nationwide distribution of equipment to employees. As an added challenge, Freedom Mortgage has added more than 1,200 new personnel since March—all working remotely.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I received is very simple. Wake up and show up, you will be surprised sometimes but you will learn all the time and if you don’t like the outcome – work to get to where you do like it.
