GENERAL SESSION: Tech Trends We’re Watching

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Basis Point

Julian Hebron is founder of The Basis Point, a sales and strategy consultancy to banks, lenders, and fintechs, and a consumer finance media brand. He advises top innovators in lending, banking, and housing on their most important and complex issues. With over 25 years in executive sales and marketing roles for companies like UBS, Wells Fargo, loanDepot, and LendUS -- as well as today's fintech disruptors -- Julian’s accessible analytical style distills the noisy consumer finance and real estate space into clear insights that banking, housing, and fintech leaders can relate to.

CPTO, Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate)

President and Chief Operating Officer, Better Mortgage

Chad Smith is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Better (NASDAQ: BETR), a leading digital mortgage company on a mission to make homeownership faster, cheaper, and just plain better for all Americans. Since its founding in 2015, Better has originated over $100 billion in home loans, more than $38 billion in insurance, and over $3 billion in real estate transactions, all entirely online. A seasoned veteran in the direct-to-consumer mortgage industry, Chad holds over 25 years of experience building lead routing strategies and partnerships for distributed retail, recapture, and MSR ownership. Prior to Better, Chad served as the Chief Executive Officer of Mission Loans, a customer and partner-centric mortgage company. He has held leadership roles at lenders including Executive Vice President of Consumer Direct and Portfolio Retention at Caliber Home Loans, a full service national mortgage originator, President of Direct Lending at loanDepot, one of the nation’s largest non-bank retail mortgage lenders, and Senior Vice President of Production at LendingTree Loans. LendingTree Loans was eventually acquired by Discover Home Loans, where Chad oversaw mortgage production for Discover's entrance into the mortgage business.