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Optimal Blue has appointed Joe Tyrrell as its recent Chief Executive Officer, the company announced yesterday. Tyrrell, a veteran of the mortgage technology sector, assumes the role after previously serving as president of ICE Mortgage Technology and, before that, holding a long-term executive position at Ellie Mae prior to its 2020 acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
The appointment comes following Optimal Blue’s acquisition by Constellation Software earlier this year. Tyrrell discussed his vision for the company in a recent interview with HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler, emphasizing a focus on maximizing lender profitability.
“What lenders really need is the ability to maximize their profitability on every single loan, so that they can just stay in business and then continue to reinvest their business to help more people,” Tyrrell told Wheeler. He further explained that his prior experience led him to prioritize work within the mortgage industry, stating that helping people achieve homeownership is “always been really near and dear to my heart.”
Tyrrell’s career includes a period at Providian, where he successfully applied strategies from the mortgage sector to the credit card industry, but ultimately found the work unfulfilling. This experience reinforced his commitment to the mortgage industry, he said.
Optimal Blue, under Tyrrell’s leadership, intends to focus on leveraging technology, including generative AI, to improve return on investment for its customers. According to Tyrrell, the company’s technology decisions are guided by three principles: improving customer ROI, avoiding the automation of flawed processes, and ensuring that the implementation of AI enhances outcomes rather than creating new problems.
“We want to become more than just a vendor; we want to become a partner in their business,” Tyrrell stated in a separate interview with Sarah Wheeler, as reported by Loyalty Home Group. He emphasized the importance of addressing specific problems with AI, rather than simply adopting the technology for its novelty, and highlighted the need for careful consideration of compliance and operational concerns.
Prior to his roles at ICE and Ellie Mae, Tyrrell held positions as a loan originator, production and operations manager, underwriter, and lock desk manager, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the mortgage process. He indicated that this background informs his current approach to technology development at Optimal Blue.
Optimal Blue recently highlighted Tyrrell’s vision for the company, including the role of generative AI, in a LinkedIn post, linking to the full HousingWire interview.
