Mark Spurbeck was recently transferred to the Las Vegas market from the Seattle market because he was promoted to County Manager for Fidelity. He also has the distinction of receiving the most nominations for any nominee for this Top 40 award – eight total. “Mark is one of the most innovative people I have met,” said nominator Matthew Ferry with the Academy of Influence. “He’s progressively become more powerful each and every year he’s worked in the title insurance field, and he started when he was 19.”
“Mark is a go-getter; he is very committed to growing and to excellence,” said another nominator, Thach Nguyen with John L Scott Real Estate. “He loves his job and it shows, he and his team provide excellent customer service. I would recommend him and have recommended him to many of my colleagues.”
“Fasten your seatbelt,” said yet another nominator, Wendel Draeger with Draeger Real Estate. “If you want to move forward in the title industry, just talk to Mark. I started doing business with him eight years ago, and he earned our business by asking the simple question ‘What can I do to help your business?’ He listened, and he helped my business by applying the services where I needed them with a personal touch and great follow-up.”
“Mark is a true leader today and I expect him to continue to grow and expand that leadership role for many years to come,” added nominator Christopher Abbinante with Fidelity National Financial.
What was your first job in the settlement services industry?
My career in the industry began back in 1989 at Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) where I was a loan officer.
Why did you become a title agent?
A friend brought me into the business. I was in complete learning mode my first year, but was fortunate enough to be named “Rookie of the Year” at WAMU. By the end of my second year, I was the number two loan officer in the west coast division. I said to myself, “Hey, I’m not bad at this and I’m having fun!” Been in the business ever since.
What about your job gives you the most satisfaction?
By far my greatest satisfaction comes from creating enthusiasm. Contagious enthusiasm is the vital force that allows people to get up in the morning and be excited about making a difference for the day. When I see people who previously shuffled into work or customer service reps that didn’t smile at clients become transformed into confident, happy, and productive people I know I am making a difference—that gets me fired up!
What challenge really jazzes you?
The biggest challenge I get jazzed about is leveraging efficient technologies to transform process problems. There are so many cool technologies out there that are being created and adapted as we speak. The challenge is first figuring out the human processes and then finding the right technologies for your operation. When we save a sheet of paper, or an escrow officer can open and close five additional loans, or a customer can close two days quicker because we got the process/technology puzzle right, I’m a happy man.
What is the best advice you could give?
Life is like a locomotive. Some people watch the train go by, some people get in the way of the train, and others drive the train. The more people you help with their goals, the more people get on board your train. Everyone gets to their wildest dreams quicker…and together.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment?
Creating a team that spent endless hours developing Fidelity’s workflow and customer interaction products (Dashboard and PlanYourMove.com) is my proudest professional accomplishment to date. The opportunity to lead a team that took a vision from concept to reality was not only a big win for our company but was extremely fun and rewarding. The best highlight occurred when Jan Ellis, our SVP-Chief Technology Office at Fidelity National Financial, came out to Seattle to give Jason Vander Vlies a promotion to Corporate IT Manager. Because Jason was our project manager, it validated what we had done and represented a HUGE win for the whole team!
To what do you attribute your success?
Ninety percent of people never write their goals down. I wrote them down. Goals, action, enthusiasm and faith—that’s the magic formula.
If you could have lunch with any person living or historical, who would it be and why?
Dale Carnegie. I want to know what inspired him to go from a life of achievement to a life of significance. For the first-half of his life Dale earned millions and the second-half he gave it all away. My question would be, “What inspired you at half-time?”
What is something unique about you that not many people know about?
Ironic to this exercise, writing is not my natural suit. It is a skill that takes a lot of time and effort for me.
What is your favorite book or movie?
This question is easy to answer…"Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill
What do you do to relax?
Spend time with family and golf.
What’s the most fulfilling thing you have been involved in within your community and why?
The most fulfilling thing I’ve been involved with in the community is teaching high school students life skills. We worked with DECA (Development, Community Service, Skill Assessment and Academic Skill Development for high schools) by educating the students how to make good life decisions. Our education system does a wonderful job of teaching math, science, and reading, but kids have no idea how to buy their first car. It was extremely rewarding to be part of a group of professionals teaching critical life skills like: understanding and building credit scores, managing checking accounts, making wise career choices, how to get the best auto loan, preparation for home ownership, and financial planning for retirement.
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