Canadian Mortgage Hall of Fame

As such a strong supporter for advancing the professional standing of mortgage brokers as key element of Canada’s financial community, it isn’t too hard to find, Fiona Campbell among the crowd of an industry event. As one of the first female mortgage broker pioneers, you can just follow all the people she has met over the years, going out of their way to see her for a warm smile, a laugh, and a great reminiscing conversation. If a relatively new Mortgage Professional Canada member has not yet met her, all they would need to do is to look for the distinguished woman with pink highlights in her hair.

The world has changed for women in the broker community. Today, the Mortgage Professionals Canada roster is highly diverse and some of its most successful members are female. When Fiona Campbell began her career the number of female leaders could probably all join her in a small coffee shop. When Fiona started in financial service more than 30 years, management wasn’t a typical career path. Fiona didn’t have to just crack a glass ceiling, she had to bust through a concrete roof. She was determined and progressed through a variety of roles within CIBC and ascend all the way to managing the mortgage specialist team in Ontario.

Fiona could sell mortgages just as well as any broker, but the industry was young, small and needed more voices. She was determined to lead the choir. Not only was she heavily involved in industry building organizations such as CMBA, she knew the value of mass – we needed more brokers. Fiona became a founding member of the small start-up called Invis. Today, as part of the M3 group of companies, her Invis roots have grown into one of the largest mortgage broker firms in Canada.

After nearly a decade at Invis, Fiona went on to create a consulting company aimed at helping to grow other startups and continued to foster more mortgage broker careers. The mortgage broker industry is woven among many participants – the brokers, the brokerage houses and the broker lending partners. No one element can exist without the other and, Fiona has left her impression on every facet of the industry. With all her broker contacts, experience and expertise, Fiona was handpicked to be Homequity Bank’s National Director for Brokers as they expended their unique mortgage solutions into market.

In 2017, Canada’s largest insurance company, Manulife, made a strategic decision to rapidly expand its banking division’s assets by making a concerted effort into mortgage broker market. The challenge for Manulife was that their financial advisor network and mortgage brokers have very different needs. The Manulife Bank broker strategy was essentially a start-up company inside a financial behemoth, and it needed industry expertise to help build the structure and keep the channel from floundering. Once again, Fiona Campbell was tapped to be bold, adventurous and be a mortgage maverick to help a small bank with a big name expand. Having the trusted name of Manulife added ever more credence to the overall mortgage broker industry in that almost all the country’s largest financial firms support the strength and need for independent mortgage advice.

To this day, you will hear Fiona advocate the need for mortgage brokers to extend their services beyond rates and administration to become truly strategic mortgage and real estate financial professionals.

2023 HALLF OF FAME INDUCTEE
Steve Whitehead

For the past 45 years, Steve Whitehead has been hard at work building an unprecedented career in the Canadian mortgage industry – first at CIBC, followed by HLC Home Loans Canada and finally with TMG The Mortgage Group, Atlantic.

While at HLC, Steve built Atlantic Canada into one of the preeminent mortgage professional forces. He then took this vision nationally, bringing annual mortgage volume at HLC to $10+ billion.

It was 13 years ago that Steve ventured out with business partner David Skinner to develop the mortgage professional business in Atlantic Canada under the TMG banner. Steve, once again, created a strong mortgage professional force in Atlantic Canada, making TMG Atlantic an industry leader.

His method is straightforward: Care about the success of your people, help them achieve their goals through personal mentoring and support them in living a balanced life. In fact, many people who have worked with Steve refer to his leadership as transformational. He creates an exciting vision for the future, and then motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision while managing its delivery. Steve continually coaches his team so they become more effective at achieving their vision as well. He did this for HLC and he continues to work this way at TMG Atlantic.

Steve is a strong community advocate – raising money and awareness for local charities. He has taken a leadership role in raising awareness for Breakfast Club of Canada and is also involved with Brokering Wishes, raising much needed funds to grant life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Canada Foundation.

Steve continues to positively impact the mortgage brokering landscape across Atlantic Canada, which has faced challenges regarding economic conditions. Still, each year, his very loyal mortgage professionals manage to break national records – earning respect from lenders, partners and competitors.