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Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.Fred Rogers
RateGenius would like to announce the retirement of Roger Douville, Chief Lending Officer, effective February 28, 2020. Please join us in wishing Roger the best of luck as he trades in his suit for more leisurely attire — and takes on his new role as a retiree.
Since 2016, Roger has been integral in the development and growth of RateGenius, our lending professionals, and our own delegated underwriting program — a team of credit analysts entrusted with the responsibility to render credit decisions on behalf of our lender partners.
We’re grateful for the mentorship and guidance he provided to our family of lending professionals during his tenure. “Roger has impacted our company by mentoring all of us,” says RateGenius CEO & Founder Chris Brown. “He has lifted the level of sophistication in every area he has been involved with. His footprint will always be a part of our DNA, from underwriting to contact center, and in our lender engagement.”
Roger joined the company as the Vice President of Lender Services and was responsible for daily operations, process automation, staff development, credit analysis, lender relationship management, and national sales efforts. As Chief Lending Officer, his responsibilities grew as he provided the roadmap for automation of the application process, designed the automated decision logic, and even shared some lending insights on our blog.
Under Roger’s leadership, significant product and process improvements were implemented that benefit our customers and lenders. Today, 70% of the application process happens instantly through our automated decisioning engine. There are even more efficiencies to look forward to in 2020, with deeper integrations to our lending network allowing us to secure loan approvals in real time.
“I have been involved with consumer lending for 35 years,” says Roger. “Much thought and planning has gone into this decision and it’s perfectly appropriate for me to retire at this time. I am genuinely excited for new experiences and for what comes next. I’ve been blessed to work with so many wonderful individuals, many of which I call friends. The RateGenius family has provided me so much, both professionally and personally. I am forever indebted to them.”
We would also like to take this opportunity to announce that Joel Benavides has joined RateGenius as Consumer Credit Manager and will oversee the RateGenius Delegated Underwriting program which processes thousands of applications monthly on behalf of our lender partners.
“Joel has a wide breadth of experience in every aspect of consumer lending,” adds Roger. “From collections to loan processing, to underwriting and dealer and lender relationships. Joel has a proven track record in consumer credit. We are so lucky to have a person of his pedigree.”
Joel comes to us from Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union where he served as Dealer Direct Coordinator. He has over 11 years of experience in lending across several roles, including loan specialist, member services, collections, and the last 6+ years in underwriting and credit analyst positions.
“I’ve known Joel for about 6 years. I mentored Joel at A+ Federal Credit Union, and I have every confidence in him to take over my lending responsibilities here at RateGenius,” adds Roger.
Joel will be reporting to our very own Julie Shinn, Vice President of Lender Management. Julie has been with RateGenius for 14 years and has been responsible for the successful growth and management of the lender experience. Her involvement in every aspect of our business has led to our continued success. With Julie’s recent promotion to Vice President, she will take on a more significant leadership role as a member of the executive team overseeing lender management, credit analysis, delegated underwriting, and titles.
Roger’s departure from RateGenius may mark the end of this chapter, but the next one looks just as promising. His retirement plans include “cycling, birdwatching, and traveling with Elaine, my wife of 38 years.”
Good luck and congratulations on this new adventure, Roger! We’ll miss seeing you around the office every day.
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