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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 34 October 2023 C O V E R S T O R Y The PhoenixTeam Difference P hoenixTeam's recipe for success is simple: top-tier mortgage technology talent, joy and purpose at work and home, and relentless focus on client outcomes. They believe this recipe enables their team members to become trusted advisors and deliver better outcomes for clients. Top-Tier Mortgage Technology Talent: PhoenixTeam's roots are mortgage and technology excellence. The company recruits mortgage technology talent with many years—often decades—of experi- ence running mortgage lending and ser- vicing operations. When you combine that with deep product and software develop- ment lifecycle expertise, you end up with a company of people like Becky Griswold. In her 29-year career prior to com- ing to PhoenixTeam, Becky held several leadership roles at a top-10 mortgage bank leading product, technology, and enterprise services teams. Currently, she leads the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) accounts for Phoe- nixTeam. Earlier this year, Becky became PhoenixTeam's newest Partner. "I had been with Phoenix for about a year and was given an opportunity to lead a key initiative for United States Depart- ment of Agriculture (USDA)," Griswold recounts. "The catch was that we needed a team (like yesterday) … This began the journey to find the right talent in my network who would deliver high-quality value for USDA. I quickly assembled a team of 12 who hit the ground running in less than three weeks. Each is still part of the Phoenix village today, executing with passion." Joy and Purpose " O ne of the great joys in life is finding your purpose, excelling at it, and discovering that your impact matters to some- thing larger than yourself." — Maxime Lagacé Early on in its formation, PhoenixTeam locked in on a vision to bring "joy and purpose" back to software development while bridging the gap between technology and business teams. PhoenixTeam believes fiercely that individuals who have a clear purpose, who are connected to their team- mates and clients, and who know that each of their colleagues and leaders have their back, will find greater happiness, dedica- tion, and focus to the outcomes they drive. That can be a powerful thing. Paul Weakley, a PhoenixTeam Partner and brilliant technologist, says he always seeks out difficult, enigmatic situations where the road to success must always be discovered. "I pursue the things I love … creativity, imagination, and problem-solv- ing to support a mission that results in a positive impact on the world, while working with friends who truly care for each other," Weakley said. "Paul's joy and purpose with clients is infectious," said Brennan, recalling when he was nominat- ed for Technologist of the Year by a mort- gage client he supported even though, ultimately, he was ruled ineligible given he was not an employee. "My mother—who could be prickly, absolutely—lived in accordance with her values, and one of her most firmly held beliefs was that diversity always, always makes something better." Tela in The New York Times "It is not the critic who counts; not the (person) who points out how the strong (person) stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the (person) who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends (themselves) in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that (their) place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." —Theodore Roosevelt