New name, same Fairway with Haley Parker

HousingWire

This week on Power House, Diego sits down with Haley Parker, the CMO of the recently rebranded Fairway Home Mortgage. With 25 years in the industry and over a decade at Fairway, Haley has a unique perspective on the intersection of mortgage and leadership.   Haley talks about Fairway’s recent rebranding and how maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit has always been key to Fairway's growth. She also talks about her secret weapon for recruiting and the fine balance between organic growth and M&A. Haley will be joining us on stage at the upcoming HousingWire MBS Summit (previously the HousingWire IMB Summit), alongside Fairway’s Jon Tobias and Rick Schnautz.   Here’s what you’ll learn:   How Haley Parker's personal motivations drive her success at Fairway   The significance of Fairway's culture in recruitment and retention   Insights into Fairway's rebranding to Fairway Home Mortgage   Marketing strategies focused on simplicity and efficiency   The balance between organic growth and M&A for cultural fit   The importance of connection and community in the mortgage industry   What to expect from Fairway at the upcoming IMB Summit   Related to this episode:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠Registration | HousingWire Mortgage Banking Summit 2025⁠  https://events.housingwire.com/mortgage-banking-summit/page/4459415/registration  ⁠Fairway Independent Mortgage⁠  https://www.fairway.com/  ⁠Haley Parker LinkedIn⁠  https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-parker-2b7a58b  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HousingWire | YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXDD_3y3LvU60vac7eki-6Q   The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire president Diego Sanchez every Thursday morning for candid conver

Transcript

00:00There's care and there is support and there is speed and you are seen and loans move and loans

00:08close and there is communication and you are just a part of something where you know it matters.

00:23Welcome to Powerhouse where we interview the biggest names in housing and ask them about

00:28their strategy for growth. I'm Diego Sanchez, president of Housing Wire and my guest today

00:34is a special one. It's Haley Parker, the CMO at Fairway Home Mortgage. Haley, it's so great to

00:41have you on the show. Thank you for having me, my friend. I am totally humbled and I told you I was

00:49a little nervous. We always have great conversations and then seconds before I'm jumping on this, I'm

00:54like, oh man, Diego, the podcast, here we go. Well, you're going to be great. I love our

01:02conversations and this will be just like another one that we have in person at one of our many events.

01:09So let's start out. Just tell us a little bit more about your role at Fairway.

01:15Yeah, for sure. Well, again, thank you very, very much for having me. Super grateful to be here.

01:21Even more humbled to truly be in this seat at Fairway. I've been in the industry for

01:26this fall will be 25 years and this fall also marks 11 years at Fairway. And so my role is chief

01:38marketing and business development officer here at Fairway and just leaning into making sure we are

01:45set up for success in today's modern mortgage world. I mean, one of the things I've been talking

01:51about a lot lately is, you know, 2030 is right around the corner and we have to be ready for what

02:00that looks like. Things, you know, continue to evolve super fast every single day. Not to mention

02:06when you look at it in a quarter or in a year, let alone 2030 coming up. So one of the things that,

02:14you know, my role we're really, really focused on right now is, is brands, is making sure our

02:20originators have the tools to set them up for success, education systems, efficiency, how we can

02:28continue to stay relevant, getting out into our local communities, you know, partnered with everything

02:35going on, tech, speed, all that. So it's an interesting role. It's an interesting time to be

02:42in this role with so much going on in marketing and technology and brand, but it's an exciting piece

02:50to play and I, place to play. And I also about my role lean really, really heavy into just community

02:57and connection as it's vital for our business. Recruiting, retention, our culture, you know,

03:07you just, you can't, can't lean enough into the people and the people that make our business go

03:13around. Yeah. When I think of you, I think, I think connector for sure. You're somebody who,

03:20you know, shows up at events and is, you know, you're connecting with people, but you're also

03:26connecting other folks at those events, whether it benefits you right then or not. Is that part of

03:35the culture at Fairway? Are there a lot of connectors at that company? Absolutely. I mean,

03:42I love that you said that about myself. I appreciate that. Passion by helping people is, is truly at the

03:50core of who I am. And I just feel like the more we can get to know people that we are doing business

03:55with or want to do business, business with, the better off we're going to be, as opposed to just

04:01like a quick cold handshake or hi, nice to meet you. You know, it's like, we really need to listen

04:06to the people that are in front of us and taking the time to network with those people as the DMs

04:13and the messages. Those are great, great ways to connect 100%. But the power that comes from being

04:19in rooms and showing up, you know, you can't put a price tag on that. And Fairway leads with that kind

04:26of mentality, top down, left, right, all the way across the board. I mean, we spend a lot of time and

04:33effort in getting together so we can continue to even network within our own organization. I mean, Steve is

04:41such an incredible leader in really bringing that community and the importance of getting face to

04:48face, you know, when we are across the entire country, but huge efforts are made through our

04:55executive team, all the way through our sales leaders across the country, even into our branches

05:01to really have a large emphasis on our people, connection, networking, and just getting to know each

05:08other, right, as opposed to just taking everybody for granted, if you will, you know, we get so caught

05:14up in the business, it's really important to always stay connected to your teammates and to the industry

05:20and keep networking. I frequently hear from industry executives that aren't at Fairway, that Fairway is

05:28a really difficult IMB to recruit LOs from. And I imagine that ties back to the culture. But why do you

05:36think that is? You know, culture, you said it, that is something like we all hold near and dear to our

05:44hearts here at Fairway. The culture is just a secret weapon. And it's hard to describe. And it's hard. I

05:52know a lot of my teammates would all agree with it. You can't quite explain what the culture, you know,

06:00is and in one word or a couple words. But one of the things that everybody would agree with is you can

06:05feel it. And that is because there's care, and there is support, and there is speed, and you are

06:13seen, and loans move, and loans close, and there is communication. And you're just a part of something

06:21where you know it matters. We, again, we pour into the culture a fair way. Because, you know, we all work

06:31really hard. And it matters where you, where you spend your time, and the people you spend your time

06:36with. And I think that is one of the reasons it is hard to recruit against Fairway. I mean, it's

06:42really cool to hear you say that, that that is a perception out there, that is a topic and a

06:48conversation. But these relationships, some of them at Fairway, they go way back. They're deep, you know,

06:55and that's part of staying connected. Some of our sales leaders have been here for 15 years,

07:0110 years, you know, 20 years, core exec team, executive members, same kind of longevity. And so

07:08when you have that longevity, I feel like you can always go further with people you've been working

07:16with for a long time. That trust has been built, and it continues to be there. And you really learn to

07:23understand what being a teammate is, having teammates and valuable ones at that. And those

07:30kind of partnerships, it's hard for people to walk away from, you know, myself included. I love

07:37the people I get to work with here at Fairway. You know, they, they are some of the best in class.

07:44They were so dang smart. They're so intelligent. And, you know, they just, we're all just moving at the

07:51same speed with the same culture at the end of the day.

07:55Yeah, I mean, I can really feel your energy and enthusiasm for the team in this conversation. It's

08:01pretty apparent to me in your smile and your body language. So you've, you've been at Fairway for just

08:08under 11 years, pretty soon, it'll be your 11 year anniversary. And in that time, you've gone from a

08:15branch marketing lead to CMO, which is major evolution, uh, for, for your career, uh, at the

08:24company. What's the secret to your success over the past 11 years?

08:29You know, um, I wear my heart on my sleeve, Diego, and for sure it's my wife, for sure. It's my kids,

08:38you know, definitely keeping those things very close to my heart. We all have goals and, um,

08:45just always wanting to lead by example for my kids and show them that, you know, whatever you put

08:52your heart and soul into and surround yourself with the right people and, you know, continue to

08:56make the right decisions, um, day in and day out, even when it's not hard, um, or not easy, but that

09:03is for sure a huge driving force for me. Another is, I mean, I just don't mean to sound silly or like

09:11a broken record, but I have felt so supported here. Truly conversations have been had by,

09:19you know, Julie Fry saying, Hey, we dream as big as you can, as big as you want. What is it that you

09:25see, you know, working alongside John and Rick for over 12 years, even prior to coming to Fairway,

09:33we have such a blast together that that is a huge piece of where I am today. Cause they have also

09:42always believed in me. And we just have this authenticity of like, why not? And Steve has

09:49always led with that too. Like, why not us? Why not you? Why not get after it? And I think

09:54it's the combination of the leadership, the belief, the support. And then, you know,

10:01I got my own fire inside me of my why, and I saw opportunity and knowing that this industry,

10:11whatever you put into it, you're totally going to get out of it. And not all industries are like

10:17that, right? Or the trajectory might be a really, really long one. Um, here at Fairway, it's been

10:23really cool that they, you know, they believe in scale and they believe in growth. And that I think

10:29has attributed to being able to be in this seat today and, you know, not being afraid to take

10:36chances and going after them and coming up with new ideas and vision. And when I, um, I have an idea

10:43or the incredible team I support as an idea, we don't just say, Hmm, probably not, you know,

10:49there's it's supported and one action needs to, that leads to the next that leads to the next that

10:54leads to, um, here we are today. And, you know, we've continued to move the needle in the right

11:00direction. We have continued to, you know, the volume and the growth and everything. Uh, one of

11:06the things we talk about a lot is just, you know, proof over promise matters. And there's been a lot

11:12of proof of track record and, and the consistent daily habits that we've all been doing together

11:19that I think has, has led to this. Yeah. You know, fairways gotten big and yet I'm hearing from you

11:27that it's still a pretty entrepreneurial environment, which is amazing, uh, to, to maintain,

11:35to maintain that entrepreneurial spirit, despite being one of the biggest IMBs. How do you think

11:40that happens? You know, Steve, um, Todd, Len, Joy, everybody, um, Paula, Scott, just across the board.

11:52They, I don't, I don't want to misspeak, but you know, it remains a pretty flat organization. And so

11:58there's not all these layers to it. And so we're able to just keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive

12:05in giving everybody the tools and the resources to go as big as you want and to be as supportive.

12:14And, you know, and it's not just something that is talked about of sure, let's try it,

12:19or you can do it with growth and support. But again, there's proof over promise. They have poured

12:25in to sales leaders regions and they have exploded. And so when somebody says they want to grow,

12:33we know how to help them do that. And I think that is, that is a neat part. You know, we're not

12:40just always putting everybody in a box. We love to meet them where they are. You know, we're all

12:45humans at the end of the day and individuality is huge. And I believe the leadership team has really

12:51poured into that. And I think that has helped create that entrepreneurial spirit as opposed to

12:58like, this is the way it's done. And there's no exceptions.

13:02So you recently led a pretty extensive rebranding process at Fairway.

13:12What was that process? And what was the why behind that project?

13:18Yeah, man, what an exciting time. I mean, after 29 years, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is now

13:26doing business as Fairway Home Mortgage. And I think when I just said that very full name

13:32and breaking it down to a simple name, a Fairway Home Mortgage is as easy as the simplicity behind it.

13:41And, you know, some other companies, a lot of companies have evolved and changed and shortened.

13:46And I think there was a little bit of that. We also have some incredible things coming up.

13:52The future for Fairway looks really, really exciting. And one of them is all things, you know,

13:59home.com. We own the domain and have for a while. And there is an incredible home vision team that is

14:07behind putting together some incredible strategy around all roads leading home, Fairway Home Mortgage.

14:14And really excited about that. And it just, the market too has been tough. I don't have to tell you

14:22that, Diego. And the rebrand just seems like the right time to just kind of keep people leaning in,

14:30keeping people involved, excited, like keeping mortgages, making mortgages fun. Like we have to

14:38lean in to some excitement as opposed to just like what has been happening year after year after year.

14:44It's tough. It's hard. And I believe Fairway Home Mortgage serves a purpose. It wasn't just one

14:50reason. It was many reasons. And, and there's some incredible sales leaders that are pouring into

14:57this new initiative, this new role of how we're going to be rolling it out from Kim Grimm to David

15:04Lazowski and Amy Slotnick and Linda Davidson, Austin Lahr, Brian Moran, the Woods Brothers,

15:10Brad Chagoo, Rick and John. I mean, there's a lot of communication and conversation. And it's been so

15:18cool to see the collaboration for lack of better words, but it's all just this excitement. And,

15:24and where are we going to be again in 2030? You know, where are we going to be in the next five,

15:2910 years? How are we going to continue to stay relevant? How are we going to keep that same

15:33energy going? And the rebrand was kind of just, it just evolved. And that's what I love about Fairway is

15:40Steve can always read the room, the pulse, the energy he knows. And he's, he was like, you know what,

15:46let's go for it. Let's do it. And at our annual meeting in March, you know, it was our first step

15:52into all roads lead home and excited to see what's going to come. And I know, um, the shortened name

15:59is exciting too. A lot of us have been saying Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation for a long

16:04time. So that's fun too. Yeah. As a marketer, I bet that's, that's super exciting. And wow,

16:11what a domain name, home, home.com and, and Fairway Home Mortgage. What are those two things?

16:17Which of those two names signify to, you know, Fairway, your Fairway team members to your customers

16:26and to your, your competitors about how you plan to, um, compete in the next couple of years?

16:34Yeah. I mean, this industry can be super complicated, but at times answers can be super

16:41simple. And we are a place that makes home happen, period, end of story. And we want our employees

16:53to feel that we want our consumers to feel that and, you know, our competition to feel that too.

16:59And just that, that this is who we are, right? It's simple. We make home happen. And we know the

17:08power behind the stories of so many people that getting into a home, what it means for them.

17:14And there's people all across this country are incredible operational staff top down, like that

17:20pour into making sure that people are achieving the dream of home ownership or whatever home ownership

17:26means to that person. And for just a little, the purpose of keeping things simple, we make home

17:35happen. And I think that is something that comes from every single person's heart here at Fairway,

17:41uh, servant leadership or servant hearts are at the core of who we are. And we just want to continue,

17:47um, to make that happen for everybody.

17:49I love that answer and, uh, um, would love to put, uh, would love for you to put your marketing

17:57strategy hat on for a little bit and let's talk through just a few highlights of how you plan to

18:06roll out that really simple concept. Let's say over the next six to 12 months, I mean, is it a big B2C

18:14advertising campaign? Is it, uh, you know, a massive LO recruitment initiative? Like what, what are the

18:22aspects of this, uh, of this new marketing strategy that, that you're excited to talk about?

18:27You know, all the, the excitement, the vision that is happening right now amongst our, amongst our leaders,

18:39our sales operations, everybody, there's so many conversations around this next rollout and it is

18:49exciting. And I don't want to speak too soon. And I do know I've talked to Clayton and I've talked to

18:55Jennifer and John has, and Laz has, and, you know, we're going to be getting to all of those things

19:02for what it means, but you know, we're going to continue to lean into our people. We're going to

19:09continue to lean into the people we serve and we're going to continue to make the home buying

19:14process as simple as possible, as, you know, efficient as possible with a lot of great education

19:22around it. And, you know, different ecosystems will be built. So everything will just be funneled and it

19:29will be easy. And this is a passion project of several people. So I don't want to just sit here and

19:36talk about it myself. I can't wait till more can share of what this is really going to mean, but we

19:43have been a really large, large company at, at certain points, right? I mean, we still are, but we are

19:52for sure leaning into making sure we have the best people here, making sure that we're not just saying

19:59yes for the sake of saying yes, you know, and, and that is also like the concept behind everything

20:05that is to come with home.com is making sure that we are set up for success to unveil where we're

20:12headed next. It's going to be really, really exciting. So when you think about growth at Fairway

20:19as, as, as the CMO and the, and the chief business development officer, what is your ideal balance

20:27between organic growth, where you are recruiting folks into the company and M&A?

20:36You know, organic growth, we love organic growth and a lot happens around here with organic growth,

20:44right? Reputation, connections, relationships, organic growth allows speed. It allows us to move

20:50fast. You know, um, that is a huge piece of who we are because again, we don't just say yes, because

20:59all of a sudden here, here's a really, you know, on paper looks like it might be a great fit, but if it

21:05doesn't fit, you know, the culture of Fairway, who we are here at Fairway Home Mortgage, you know, we,

21:12we look into that and we just don't say yes to absolutely everything. So I think it's a perfect

21:18balance, if you will, maybe a little bit more heavier on the organic side, because when it comes

21:23to M&A, you know, it's exciting. We're super happy to have our new Hallmark friends with us and,

21:30you know, open to new opportunities. And if the right thing comes across the table, then absolutely

21:36it's a yes. But you know, Diego, when you're merging, it's like merging several lanes of traffic

21:42onto one highway and everybody just has to keep going. And that takes, you know, precision. It

21:49takes a lot of effort to get everybody moving onto a brand new highway together in lockstep. And that's

21:56something that we take into consideration a lot around here because Steve continues to be fiercely

22:03protective of the people who are here, right? And making sure that everybody's getting the help they

22:10need first and foremost, before all of a sudden, just because a potential opportunity might be at our

22:16doorstep. If it's, if it's gonna, if it's not going to serve everybody, and if it's going to make some

22:21people frustrated, or departments are going to get too stressed, you know, and workloads are too heavy,

22:26and then all of a sudden, you know, it takes us off kilter a little bit. We're not going to just say yes,

22:32because the opportunity is knocking.

22:34So sounds like you're going to be pretty opportunistic. Are there opportunities that are

22:40currently available out there for you to look at?

22:44There are opportunities and there are conversations right now as we speak that are going on. But you know,

22:50where they'll lead to, you know, come to find out. But we do want to grow. We absolutely want to grow.

22:56We want to grow with the right people. And that's what we're so excited about right now. We've had

23:01several, if you will, boomerang employees come back as of late, you know, they might have made a

23:08decision that was best for them and their family at the time. But you know, they've reached back out

23:12to division, different divisional leaders around the country, or branch managers and saying, I want

23:18to come home, I want to come back to Fairway. And we're, we're so happy when that happens. And we,

23:24that's like, that's like just the culture we want to continue to create here at Fairway that we love

23:31growth. We love growth, especially when it's done in the right way with the right people. And, you

23:37know, we continue to look for the right people, you know, we want to continue to grow our Fairway

23:41family, no doubt about it. And, but, you know, we just want to spend a little extra time making sure

23:46that it's the right fit for everybody.

23:48So I've really enjoyed this conversation. And it's only part one of HousingWire's conversation

23:58with Haley Parker and some of your closest colleagues. You, along with a couple other

24:07executives at Fairway, are going to be keynote speakers at HousingWire's upcoming IMB Summit.

24:14Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

24:17Yeah, it's so, so exciting and humbling. I mean, just, I love this industry so much. I love you

24:26guys at HousingWire and all you do for all of us across the board. And to receive a phone call from

24:33Jennifer and Samantha and Clayton and their idea about bringing John, Rick, and I to the stage in

24:43October to discuss how we were able to grow and scale, uh, was really cool to hear for lack of

24:50better words. You know, we keep our heads down, we're grinding, we're doing things, we're leaning

24:54in, all this stuff, but to all of a sudden kind of be soft in the tracks and hear Clayton's idea

25:00around pausing about growth and just sharing our journey over the last 11 years of how we were able

25:10to scale and how we were able to continue to do what we do and also how we still love what we're

25:17doing and how we still love who we're working with and for. And so looking forward to the opportunity

25:23to share.

25:24The thing I love about the story is you, the three of you have been working so closely and kind of

25:31growing up and evolving together over, over these 11 years and really building something

25:40pretty incredible, like with a lot of twists and turns along the way. And I just think the audience

25:46at the summit is going to be fascinated with that story.

25:51Oh, well, thank you. I mean, we've been working together far longer than 11 years. And, um,

25:56I believe Rick was John's very first hire. I met John many years ago at the previous company I used

26:02to work at. So it's wild. And then here we are the last 11 and we just keep supporting each other and,

26:08you know, navigating family and friends and work and just all of it. You got to love who you work

26:16with. And I think that is a huge difference maker for the three of us.

26:21Well, Haley, this has been a wonderful conversation. Great to catch up with you again. Thank you

26:26so much for, uh, for joining me on powerhouse. You're very welcome. And by the way, killer summit,

26:32AI summit, looking forward to the IMB, you guys are always crushing it. And the gathering was just

26:37out of this world. So appreciate all you do, my friend. Thanks so much, Haley. All right. Take care.

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