To kick off Digital Mortgage 2026, this session focuses on lender growth strategies. New playbooks for customer acquisition. New rules for how customers can find you online. How to modernize and deepen partnerships with realtors, builders, financial advisors, etc., using better data, smarter integrations/deals, and easier communication. All while differentiating your brand as you execute. Rocket CTO Shawn Malhotra opens the session with a deep dive on what all of this looks like at scale. The session then brings in additional panelists to detail how these strategies can work for lenders of all sizes.

As AI becomes central to competitive advantage, the buy vs. build decision is taking on new urgency. Should lenders develop proprietary AI capabilities in-house to maintain control and differentiation, or partner with external providers to accelerate deployment and keep pace with innovation? In this session, we explore how organizations are evaluating this trade-off across speed, cost, data ownership, and long-term scalability — and how to strike the right balance in an increasingly AI-driven mortgage landscape.

Recharge and connect during our morning break session. This brief intermission provides the perfect opportunity to grab a cup of coffee, network with peers and prepare for the rest of the day’s engaging sessions.

W. Curtis Jant is a Customer Success Director at JazzX, where he leads the customer relationship, delivery PMO, and value-realization strategy for JazzX’s flagship enterprise mortgage engagements.He owns executive governance, phased proof-of-concept-to-production rollouts, and cross-functional delivery across mortgage origination, underwriting, and servicing workflows.
Curtis brings nearly two decades of financial services and mortgage experience to JazzX. He began his lending career as a Mortgage Loan Officer at Bank of America, then spent more than eight years in Ernst & Young’s (EY) Financial Services Strategy and Transformation practice, advising clients on banking technology modernization, consumer lending transformation and complex regulatory responses. He later served as Principal Business Architect at Microsoft, where he designed and deployed AI and cloud solutions for financial services industry (FSI) customers, authored AI reference architectures for financial services, including default servicing and agentic underwriting solutions, and advised C-level banking and lending executives on AI adoption and modernization strategy.
Curtis holds an MBA from Wake Forest University School of Business and a BBA in Marketing and Finance from North Carolina A&T State University. He is a certified SAFe Agilist, SAFe DevOps Practitioner, and SAFe Product Manager/Owner.

Ron Carrillo has been with DocMagic for over 24 years and serves as Business Development Manager. His current focus centers on partnering with lending organizations to navigate change management and develop comprehensive eStrategy initiatives. Ron specializes in helping these organizations assess their digital readiness, architect scalable technology solutions, and implement workflow automation that reduces closing times and enhances operational efficiency.

As a solution specialist, Ron keeps prospects and customers informed about the latest product enhancements and features, improving the experience for current clients while attracting and educating new customers. His expertise spans digital transformation planning, process optimization, and technology integration, enabling lending organizations to modernize their operations while maintaining regulatory compliance. Ron’s strategic approach helps organizations evaluate their current infrastructure, identify automation opportunities, and create roadmaps for sustainable digital adoption across their mortgage operations.

Tim Von Kaenel is Chief Strategy Officer at CI&T, a global technology transformation firm for large enterprises and fast growth clients, where he specializes in building, integrating and reengineering tech stacks for banks, mortgage lenders, and fintech companies. Tim’s deep roots in mortgage lending include chief product officer roles at tech-forward mortgage bank LoanDepot, mortgage servicing software leader Sagent, and mortgage point of sale software pioneer CloudVirga.

Joe Wilson is the CEO and founder of SocialCoach, a platform that helps mortgage and finance pros create authentic, compliant social media content at scale. With 20+ years in mortgage tech, Joe and his team empower companies to build influence, protect their brand, and add 20%+ to their pipeline through social.

Mark Yoder serves as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Ascend Companies, Inc., where he leads key industry relationships and growth initiatives across the organization’s portfolio of companies. Ascend is a collection of technology and service businesses focused on helping mortgage lenders, financial institutions, and fintech partners drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

In his role, Mark works closely with lenders, technology providers, industry associations, and strategic partners to develop meaningful collaborations that accelerate digital transformation throughout the mortgage ecosystem.

Mark is representing inflooens, Ascend’s next-generation relationship intelligence and growth platform designed to help lenders strengthen referral partner engagement, increase loan officer productivity, and drive sustainable business growth. With a passion for building connections and fostering innovation, Mark brings a practical perspective on how technology, partnerships, and modern engagement strategies can help lenders compete in an evolving marketplace.