Mortgage broker UMortgage has hired David Higgins, a top-rated learning & development training coach and Army veteran, as senior learning specialist.
Higgins will work on creating end-to-end learning experiences to help loan originators, leadership, and team members best serve customers.
Before joining UMortgage, Higgins spent nearly six years with United Wholesale Mortgage, where he established himself at the top of his field. He secured his spot as the top-ranking trainer and coach company-wide in 2020, with a client satisfaction score of 99.2%. That same year, he was nominated as company MVP.
In 2019, Higgins also received recognition from Training Magazine, one of the industry's leading authorities, earning a nomination for the magazine's Emerging Training Leader Award.
Higgins said his recipe for success includes his holistic understanding of the people-development process. "Forming relationships built on trust and feedback with those I support is crucial," he said. "Having those continuous conversations helps us identify gaps and meet the training needs of the business."
Kayla Lopez, who leads the Learning & Development team at UMortgage, said Higgins “is the definition of ‘all-in.’ When searching for the perfect person for this role, we had to make sure it was someone who was focused on doing the right things to support our customers in every way from the inside out. Dave is that person."
Higgins said his work is also his passion. "My job is to guide people to think critically, be efficient, and tackle the challenges of their day-to-day roles,” he said. “Watching them achieve results is incredibly rewarding."
This passion for teaching is what drew UMortgage to Higgins, company President & CEO Anthony Casa said. "We have been extremely intentional about who we bring on," Casa said. "We want people who are committed to producing a best-in-class experience for our loan originators, internal team members, and leadership. Dave has such a clear passion for what he does. It's apparent in the work he produces and the people he trains."
Higgins served in the Army, with two year-long deployments in Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom. He received the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device in 2007 and 2008, and was the 173rd Airborne Brigade Soldier of the Month in 2008.
Based in Philadelphia, UMortgage holds licenses in 39 states.
