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Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1205640
62 One of the first things President and CEO Robert "Bob" Caruso said to me during my visit to the offices of his mortgage subservicing company, ServiceMac, was to offer to let me remove my tie. It was a small gesture, but one that echoed many of the themes Caruso and the ServiceMac team would discuss passionately over the course of the afternoon to come— themes such as a commitment to a family-focused culture, an attention to detail, and a willingness to reexamine entrenched processes and mindsets, even if that's "how things have always been done." Founded in 2017, ServiceMac now occupies a full floor of its building in Fort Mill, South Carolina, sharing an office park with the headquarters of Movement Mortgage. Caruso tells me that the company is already planning a move into a larger facility, and the evidence of those preparations aren't hard to see—one whole section of the floor is occupied by spare chairs, tables, and other furniture. According to Caruso, they bought it by the lot after a local legal college shuttered, and they simply don't have any other place to store it until their larger offices are ready for them. Nevermind the clutter, the message is clear—ServiceMac has plans to grow. It's the sort of casual confidence that isn't unexpected from Caruso, a 30-year mortgage veteran who has put in time at companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and ServiceLink. But in spite of all those years of experience, Caruso's ServiceMac venture is very much an attempt to push limits—both his own and those of his team. ServiceMac's website reads like that of many other similar companies, running down a list of services offered and avowing a commitment to providing "personalized solutions that span the mortgage continuum and enhance security, customer satisfaction, and profitability." But once you dig deeper, you find a company firmly tied to a few core ideas and a very specific way of thinking—all of which relate directly back to the company's WHAT ABOUT BOB? From data governance to a focus in "getting it right the first time," here's how Bob Caruso and ServiceMac are working to rethink mortgage subservicing. Cover Story By: David Wharton