Changing the industry.

THE INTERNET IS NOW WIDELY ESTABLISHED AS A BUSINESS MEDIUM IN the mortgage industry. MortgageHub, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, considers Web services the biggest technology change to influence the industry since the advent of computing. To help continue playing a leading role in this vital sector of the mortgage business, MortgageHub recently promoted William Adamowski, one of three co-founders, to the role of chairman.

Established in 1999 as Mortgage Services Corporation of America, MortgageHub is a Web service platform provider that creates software and services to improve loan originations via the Internet for retail and wholesale channels. As chairman, Adamowski will be responsible for ensuring the solid growth and profitability of his company as it seeks to help change the industry one client at a time. Additionally, he includes on his to-do list: making company policy decisions, articulating the company's mission to internal and external audiences, while sustaining the vision of where the company is going in a changing mortgage technology landscape.

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Adamowski's firm already has established relationships with top originators such as Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa; GMAC Mortgage Corporation, Horsham, Pennsylvania; Sun Trust Bank, Atlanta; and Wachovia Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina. MortgageHub is looking to add additional resources to keep up with its growing base of customers. Adamowski has been busy trying to keep up with industry demand. A week after his promotion, MortgageHub almost doubled its work force (from 10 to 18 employees), according to the company. "Our service is designed to offer convenience for the customer and help the originator reduce its costs to increase their market share," Adamowski said.

One of the challenges Adamowski faces is getting MortgageHub's brand more widely recognized and maintaining and developing new and existing strategic partnerships. That is why he is concentrating on middle-tier mortgage companies. He believes that segment of the industry stands to benefit most from MortgageHub's platform. His second challenge is to change the traditional mindset of executives who make choices solely based on budget. This is an especially tough challenge in the current environment, as home mortgage origination volumes are expected to shrink--making cost-cutting a focal point for lenders.

As a technology veteran with 25 years of experience, including 15 years in the mortgage banking industry, Adamowski feels good industry relationships will be key to his success. "I can leverage the many relationships developed throughout my career and match [those] relationships with [the] goals of MortgageHub in the chairman's role," he said.

Adamowski has been chief technology officer for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (a division of Wells Fargo Bank), chief information officer for GMAC Mortgage, and a senior manager with Deloitte Consulting. Beginning as a software engineer at GTE and later as a software development manager for Cendant Corporation, Adamowski's interest in technology started when he attended Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. He earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science, and founded ATEK Consulting, a consulting firm implementing technology for local businesses.

His two MortgageHub co-founders, Chetan Patel, chief operating officer, and David Rae, chief technical officer, will continue with their responsibilities of managing MortgageHub's day-to-day operations and handling technology and product decisions.

The three founded the company because they were frustrated by the systems choices available to the industry. They came together determined to revolutionize the loan origination process. "They [Patel and Rae] are excited, in that I can refocus my efforts in areas that will have greater impact upon the company's success," said Adamowski, who was formerly MortgageHub's chief executive officer and president. That success could depend on many factors, one being the willingness of the industry to increasingly shift toward technology-based solutions following the refinancing boom.

Adamowski explained how MortgageHub's name was chosen. "MortgageHub's name is intended to capture the eCommerce nature of our product direction," he said. "Our goal is to provide mortgage transaction hubs for all of our clients. These hubs are meant to facilitate the flow of information [among] customers, consumers, business partners, agents, etc., in order to make the mortgage process easy and efficient."

These hubs are specifically tailored to each client's business structure. "Different lenders have different workflows and processes. Our application's foundational nature allows our clients to implement our solution in the manner that best fits their needs," Adamowski said.

In his spare time, Adamowski loves traveling to exotic places with his family. He is married to his wife, Tracy, a former Miss Idaho. They have a son, Billy, 16, and daughter, Allison, 12. This past year they traveled to the Galapagos Islands and the rainforests of the Amazon basin. Adamowski has been on a safari in Kenya, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as well as traveling to Japan and Hawaii. But odds are he will be spending a bit more time in Pennsylvania as he masters his new role as chairman in the months ahead.