Like so many people working in the mortgage industry, Allen Pollack did not set out in his early twenties with dreams of a career in mortgage lending. It was more like something that happened to him, a happy accident of sorts that has led him to his current role as EVP of Product Innovation at OpenClose™.
Allen graduated from the University of Hartford with a degree in video broadcasting and a dream of producing TV. And so, he did, landing a coveted gig at MTV Networks, a hands-down dream job for pretty much any mid-90s twenty-something. There, he quickly climbed the ranks working on shows like Behind the Music, Storytellers and VH1 Divas.
Then, suddenly, it was 1998 and the dot.com world was booming. A self-taught software programmer, Allen decided it was time to leave broadcast behind and find a way to capitalize on his newfound website-building skills.
At a time when the World Wide Web had a new fascination that only some enterprising companies were exploring, Allen began building applications to help businesses run smarter, mastering the tools he would eventually use to help usher in the age of the digital mortgage.
Then, Allen was introduced to a mortgage company that offered to show him the ropes if he could build them a system that would enhance their loan process. The rest, as they say, is history.
Industry Co-Founder
Allen moved on to co-found NYLX, which provided a real-time product and pricing engine. In doing so, he was building tech that was actively changing how lenders’ and investors’ mortgage data could be used. In just a few years, he helped to scale NYLX to the leading pricing engine in the industry.
Years later, Allen was part of the team that founded LoanLogics by merging two companies in a move that became widely recognized for pioneering innovation in the mortgage banking world with unique technology to overcome pre-digital challenges with loan quality and loan performance.
Today, after recently relocating from his native New Jersey, Allen works from his home office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with his two dogs by his side. A night owl, he’s been known to shoot off emails after midnight, when he does his best work.
Shaping Ideas
His colleagues would say that Allen’s extensive mortgage experience and – importantly – his empathetic nature allows him to tune in to the pain points facing actors in the space, shaping ideas as to how tech can solve those problems.
Positive and energetic, Allen is a “glass-half-full” kind of guy who approaches his work with an air of genuine enthusiasm. He is an adamant advocate for mentorship, aiming to share his knowledge with others in the space so they can learn to effectively leverage tech.
When he’s not working, Allen travels the competitive cheerleading circuit with his three teenaged daughters or casts a line from the stern of his new fishing boat. A lifelong Giants fan, he’s become a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and now that his oldest has entered the University of Mississippi, he’s sporting some Ole Miss Rebels gear.
Every day, he tells his kids a quote that he strives to live by: “Do something today that your future self with thank you for.”