Andy Matkovic’s Journey As CCM’s First Employee

Bridget: Welcome to CCM Talks. I am Bridget Linton, and today I am joined by Andy Matkovic, our SVP of Experience. Now, Andy, you are a true CCM OG. So take me back to 2003 and how you got your start with CrossCountry Mortgage.

Andy: You know, I think it was right place, right time. I, I was able to work with an individual that started this company. We worked at a subprime lender back in the day. Right. And we always talked about what it would be like if he had the opportunity, if we had the opportunity to work in a company where the LO was first and we could streamline things, make our lives easy, and the opportunity came. I believe in Ron Leonhardt, and I was, I quit my job and I said, let’s go. I mean, literally dropped everything. We went at it.

Bridget: And that was back in 2003. And you guys had, what, six employees at the time?

Andy: You know, it was Ron and I. Yeah. We hired Holly, our processor. Ron’s mom and Ron’s cousin. Yeah. And then Mike Biel, of course. So. Yeah. Six of us.

Bridget: So it was just six of you, and now we have more than 7,000 employees at CrossCountry Mortgage. And the number one mortgage retail lender in the nation. How rewarding is it to see what it started as and what it is now?

Andy: We’re in Austin, Texas for a national sales rally today. Let me put it to you this way, our first 2 or 3 years, our holiday dinners were potlucks. Think about that, right. I mean, it’s so amazing.

The coolest thing I would say, you know, back when this started, I don’t know what it was about Ohio. It was like a mecca of lenders, brokers. Like everybody was just, like, tripping over each other, right? We worked together. Ron still closed loans. When the other people started getting bigger, their leaders stopped working and Ron put his head down.

And, you know, he still does that to this day. So I just, I don’t know, as far as I’m concerned, like, it’s, it’s just such a cool place because of the grind that everybody has and the will to win.

Bridget: And we continue to grow to be bigger and bigger and more successful. And it’s been so rewarding for me to sit back and watch it all happen as well. And we really do have some of the best loan officers at CrossCountry Mortgage, and we continue to attract top talent. What do you think it is about CCM that sets them apart from all the other competition?

Andy: Well, this morning I was talking to some of our leaders and, you know, they were talking about how they put the ego away. So the ego is checked out at the door. And I think that there’s an old saying, iron sharpens iron. So these guys are not afraid, and gals. Right? They’re not afraid to talk together, collaborate and keep pushing themselves. Which I think is like really important. Not only that, but we also have the programs to help everybody succeed as well.

Bridget: For sure. And obviously it’s not all roses all the time. There’s of course some challenges when it comes to the mortgage industry in general. But what are some of the challenges in attracting and retaining LOs?

Andy: You know, it’s, I get this question all the time. People think that they’re not, if they’re not like $100 million producer, that they’re not worthy or we shouldn’t even consider them to come to work a CrossCountry.

And I tell everybody, guys, we’ve got over 7,000 employees, maybe 2,500 or so are loan officers. Not everybody’s doing $100 million. I wish they were, but they’re not, so a little and often makes much. There’s a lot of people that are doing $20-$30 million. I want them. We are very big, but we’re not big enough that you don’t count.

Bridget: I love that and that is great advice. So for someone that is considering coming to CCM but is on the fence, what is one thing that you would tell them?

Andy: I would say, give me a call and I would talk about all the products, my experience here and how I’ll make that transition a lot easier for you.

Bridget: And listen, you are just a ball of energy all the time. You walk into a room and you can’t help but smile. Can you talk a little bit more about the culture and that positive impact that we have here at CrossCountry Mortgage?

Andy: I think it’s, it all starts from the top, right? And everybody has a voice. And I mean, there’s times where like, anybody can call Ron, by the way, so you can be an LO on the ground, call him up, complain about something. He’s going to take your phone call. I don’t know where else you’re able, like his cell phone is out on the internet. Like, who else does that, right? Like, I don’t think Bill Gates would do that.

Bridget: I don’t think so either.

Andy: But so, so it starts from the top as far as the culture and getting, you know, just that openness to be able to work through issues. Now there’s going to be times where things are going to clash. But, you know, you do it in the professional way and you work through it. And that goes for everybody. So you can call up the underwriters, you can call up the closers, you can call up Ron, you can call me, like we’re going to listen, fix and try to move on.

Bridget: And we’ve talked about how much it’s grown since the start of 2003 to where we are now. But when you think about the future of CCM, what excites you the most?

Andy: Oh, man, I think it’s, you know, it’s becoming, the things that are making me more excited in the future, it’s not so much about the loans, it’s about the technology that we’re bringing. And like just our internal, we call it LO One.

So just the technology to make things easier, both in marketing and loans, you know, a big push into that is where I don’t see anybody else wanting or willing to do it and Ron is investing the money in that. So that’s where I hang my hat.

Bridget: Great answer. So we’ve talked a lot about CCM, your career here. Let’s have a little fun just about Andy. Do you have a fun fact for us?

Andy: Well, I mean, I, I bake, I mean, everybody knows that, right? So I make cookies and muffins.

Bridget: I actually didn’t know that.

Andy: Oh, you didn’t know that?

Bridget: Here I thought we were best buds and I didn’t even know you baked. You have never baked me anything.

Andy: You know what? Next week, when you, let me know and I’ll make something.

Bridget: Oh, okay, I like that. What’s your specialty?

Andy: I just do it all, really.

Bridget: Wow.

Andy: It’s called championship bakery, a champion in every bite.

Bridget: Oh, I love that. Oh my gosh, Andy, you are the best. Well, thank you so much for joining this episode of CCM Talks. And if you would like to learn more information about CCM careers, all you have to do is visit CCM.com and we’ll see you on our next episode of CCM Talks.