Before Portellus, John Le was the founder and CEO of LoanTrader, Inc., a mortgage marketplace services company. Prior to that, he was with Long Beach Financial Corporation (Washington Mutual) and ContiFinancial, where he was involved in strategic planning, technology utilization, domestic and foreign opportunity development, and mergers & acquisitions.“John has always been a strong proponent of driving the implementation of bleeding-edge technologies, alliances and/or initiatives aimed at delivering innovation for the mortgage banking industry,” said nominator Joe Bowerbank, also with Portellus.
Portellus, under Le’s tutelage, has seen 100 percent growth annually since 2001, and the company is completely self-funded and has 110 full-time employees. He has also won other awards such as Mortgage Technology Magazine’s Top 25 mortgage technology providers list, and in 2000, he received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award for his work at LoanTrader.
Le received his B.S. in mathematics and actuarial science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
I got involved in the software side of the business because software is a technology and technology is an enabler. When you look back in history and the introduction of technology capabilities at certain points in time you see a period of industrial growth and productivity. The mortgage industry in its own microcosm is also well served by technology. I wanted to be part of the center of influence and technology leadership afforded me that vehicle.
What about your job gives you the most satisfaction?
Our customers are always pushing us to innovate. The reason? It helps move their business forward and enables them to find new ways of being successful. Seeing innovation translate to market adoption and in turn resulting in positive impacts in the industry puts a wide smile across my face.
When others say it can’t be done. That’s when we roll up our organizational ‘sleeve’ and make it happen!
Start it… and finish it. Even if you don’t like the outcome…the journey is half the experience.
Building my first company and taking it national before the age of 30.
Warren Buffet. Because his lunches are being auctioned on eBay for over $200k. That would be a great meeting at and even better ‘discount’.
European club music. It has a fast pace that keeps me moving during the day.
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