October Research, LLC, recognized trailblazers in the title industry with its annual awards for leadership, innovation, and philanthropy.
CEO and Publisher Erica Meyer presented the awards Wednesday at the 17th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3). Fred Westerlund, CEO of MBH Settlement Group, received the leadership award. Nate Baker, CEO and co-founder of Qualia, received the innovation award. And Aaron Davis, CEO of AMD Enterprises, was presented the philanthropy award.
“Each year, we are faced with choosing from the best of the best. This year was no different,” Meyer said. “This year’s winners of the October Research Awards truly reflect the best our industry has to offer in leadership, innovation and philanthropy.”
2021 Leadership Award
During his 16-year career in the title industry, Westerlund has held leadership roles in title, lending, and settlement services at NVR, PenFed and MBH Settlement Group (MBH).
At NVR Mortgage Finance, where he served as vice president/regional manager, Westerlund helped his team achieve a 69.7 percent gross margin. At NVR Settlement Services, he achieved a capture rate of 92.4 percent and reduced employee turnover from 37 percent to 2 percent.
In 2017, after a stint as chief operating officer and executive vice president of PenFed Title, Westerlund joined MBH. Since then, the company has been recognized for its superior service and customer-focused business practices and has realized 63 percent growth.
2021 Innovation Award
Along with co-founders Lucas Hansen and Joel Gottsegen, Baker founded Qualia in 2015 with the mission of transforming homebuying into a quick, simple, and secure experience. Prior to Qualia, Baker was an investor at the venture capital firm Formation 8.
While at Formation 8, Baker observed how complex (and sometimes confusing) the process of buying a home in the U.S. could be. With Qualia, he envisioned turning a paper-heavy process into a digital, Amazon-like checkout experience for both industry professionals and consumers.
The company’s Qualia Scale powers proptech and fintech companies such as Redfin, Realtor.com and others to adopt industry standards and best practices through its technology infrastructure.
Baker has been recognized by Inc Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Rising Stars List and Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Qualia also has been recognized as a top place to work.
2021 Philanthropy Award
Davis is CEO and owner of 32 businesses, including Florida Agency Network, Premier Data Services, Network Transaction Solutions, and Hillsborough Title. Despite all these obligations, he has consistently made time to give back during his two decades in the industry.
Earlier this year, following a winter storm and power grid failure in Texas, Davis stepped away from his businesses to devote his time to recovery efforts in and around Harper, Texas, an area to which he previously had no connection. He distributed thousands to organizations in need, worked to help clear debris and wreckage, and created a GoFundMe page for this impoverished community.
Additionally, Davis is past president of his local Rotary Club; a member of Bay Area Advisors, which raises funds for the Moffitt Center; and AMD Enterprises donates to between 50 and 100 charities annually.
Previous OR Award winners were:
2020
Leadership: Patrick Stone, Williston Financial Group
Innovation: Rick Triola, NotaryCam
Philanthropy: Patrick Hagler, Alliant National Title Insurance Co.
2019
Leadership: Erin Faulkner, Amrock
Innovation: Gorkem Kuterdam, Adeptive Software
Philanthropy: John Voso, Old Republic National Title
2018
Leadership: Monte Reinert, Transnation Title Agency of Michigan
Innovation: Dominic Iannitti, DocMagic
Philanthropy: Joyce Weiland, SoftPro
2017
Leadership: George Holler, Holler Law Firm LLC
Innovation: Paul Clifford, Simplifile
Philanthropy: Curt Szymanski, Windward Consulting
2016
Leadership: Mary Schuster, RamQuest
Innovation: Dan Sogorka, RealEC Technologies
Philanthropy: Tali Raphaely, Armour Settlement Services
2015
Leadership: Diane Evans, Land Title Guarantee Co.
Innovation: Dick Reass, RynohLive
Philanthropy: Kevin Tacher, Independence Title
2014
Leadership: John Hollenbeck, First American Title Insurance Co.
Innovation: Tim Armbruster, Woodfinn
Philanthropy: Kent Stewart, Reli Settlement Solutions
2013
Leadership: Joseph Drum, WFG National Title Insurance Co.
Innovation: Brian Coester, Coester VMS
Philanthropy: Dave Heine, Closemytimeshare.com
2012
Leadership: Robert Klein, Safeguard Properties
Innovation: Stewart Morris Jr., Stewart Information Services Corp.
Philanthropy: Chris Gulotta, The Gulotta Law Group, PLLC