Loandepot has rehired two mortgage professionals who were previously involved in the development of its mello platform, signaling the Irvine, California-based company's intent to bolster its technology offerings.
The public company has named industry veterans Dominick Marchetti as chief digital officer and Sean Dejulia as chief innovation officer. Marchetti, who worked at the lender from 2015 to 2019 before joining Rate, and Dejulia, who was with the company from 2009 to 2019 before launching his own firm, will assume their roles immediately.
Marchetti and Dejulia were key contributors to the development of Loandepot's
Hsieh said the return of Marchetti and Dejulia, whom he described as "trailblazers," signals the company's effort to "return to [its] roots of innovation."
"I had the privilege of working closely with both as we built the groundbreaking technology that defined Loandepot's early reputation and growth, so I know firsthand what they're capable of," said Hsieh in a statement Tuesday. "Their return is more than a reunion: it's a force multiplier that will accelerate our digital transformation in both the near and long term."
Over the next 90 days, Marchetti and Dejulia will evaluate the critical resources required to develop next generation tools and capabilities, Loandepot's press release said.Although Marchetti did not specify which projects he and Dejulia will focus on, he said in an interview with National Mortgage News that he plans to build on the company's existing platform and work with third-party vendors to streamline the loan origination process.
"My goal is to use the [mello] platform and tools that vendors provide in conjunction with the Loandepot team to do more quality loans," said Marchetti. "And that we're doing this in a way that actually reduces cost to the consumer and the company, so that we can finally begin driving efficiency and driving speed."
Since launching
The newly hired chief digital officer said AI tools could help Loandepot accelerate innovation.
"There's really awesome solutions in the market that can help you understand your data and your company," Marchetti said. "Our approach is to use those capabilities effectively where somebody has already solved a very specific need in the market, and to partner with those companies that are doing it best, underneath the mello brand."
"In the short run, [we'll]leverage partners as effectively as possible and in the slightly longer term, called the intermediate term, to identify those gaps and to lean in and actually truly innovate around those opportunities," the executive added.
