Software is only part of the solution – strong client relationships matter, too

HousingWire recently caught up with Peter A. Espinosa, the new chief executive officer at Mortgage Cadence. He’s been traveling across the country, meeting with staff members and customers as the company prepares to roll out its next generation loan origination platform, the Mortgage Cadence Platform (MCP). We asked him what he was hearing in the market and what he hopes to accomplish in his new role as CEO.

HousingWire: How will your background as a software and tech executive serve you in your new position?

Peter Espinosa: Mortgage Cadence is a solutions company, but we deliver those solutions primarily through software and technology. That means I’ll be leveraging everything I’ve learned over the course of my nearly 40-year career. You pick up a lot over that span of time but recalling the most important lessons I’ve learned takes me all the way back to my time at IBM.

First, you must be maniacally focused on the customer. I know every company has a line in their mission statement somewhere that talks about being customer-focused, but to succeed today you must go far beyond that. I call it “living in the shadow of the customer.” When you become the kind of partner that can stay that close to the people you serve, you have a much better idea of what will truly add value to their business.

And that’s the second lesson: it’s all about adding business value. Some companies act like a piece of software can be installed and will automatically add value. That doesn’t happen.

The software is part of a solution to a business problem. Solving that problem is what adds the value. That’s why we don’t refer to Mortgage Cadence as a technology firm, even though that’s a huge part of what we do. We’re a solutions company that understands the value of great client relationships. That’s how we add value.

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