GENERAL SESSION: Transformational Change

Founder & CEO, 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. The Basis Point advises innovators in lending, banking, and housing on their most pressing issues. Informed by 2 decades of sales and marketing expertise with UBS, Wells Fargo, loanDepot, and LendUS (now CrossCountry) — plus helping several fintech firms grow into category leaders — Julian’s accessible analytical style connects the right dots, and distills industry noise into actionable intel for banking, housing, and fintech leaders.

Chief Strategy Officer, CMG Financial

With over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Paul Akinmade has played a key role in driving CMG Financial’s strategic innovation and growth since joining the company in 2016. As Chief Strategy Officer, he leads critical divisions, including Engineering and Development, Infrastructure, Marketing, Data and Business Intelligence, Consumer Direct, Loan Servicing, and Strategic Initiatives. His diverse experience, beginning as an originator and evolving into a business operator, combined with an MBA from Georgetown University, provides him with a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of the mortgage lifecycle. This enables him to focus on deploying an integrated, cross-functional strategy and fostering change with greater effectiveness. Paul is known for his ability to align advanced technologies with business objectives, consistently delivering data-driven solutions that enhance customer experience, increase productivity, create competitive advantages, and expand market share. He leads his teams with passion and a deep commitment to fostering collaboration, consistent execution, and operational excellence.

Chief Operating Officer, Rocket

Heather Lovier serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Rocket, a role she has held since June 2024. In this position, she oversees the entire homeownership experience within the organization, with a particular emphasis on delivering a world-class experience for our clients and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance the journey. Heather leads the strategy for Rocket Mortgage’s Banking and Client Experience Operations teams, ensuring seamless integration with its sister companies, Rocket Close and Rocket Homes. Prior to becoming COO, Heather was the Chief Client Experience Officer from November 2021 to March 2024. She also held various Vice President roles from 2015 to 2021, where she led the Client Experience team, and from 2010 to 2015, where she led the Business Development team. Heather began her career at Rocket in 2003 as a loan analyst in Operations before transitioning to the Mousetrap team in 2005. Before joining Rocket, she spent eight years honing her leadership skills at an automotive supplier, where she led a customer service team.