Robbins' family reunion: John Robbins was a leader in the mortgage business long before he took the chairman's post for the Mortgage Bankers Association. His successful career has been noted for many things, but the loyalty of his senior management team is perhaps the most telling

Mortgage Banking, Oct, 2006 by Janet Reilley Hewitt

They call him "Dad" when he's out of the room. But they aren't his kids. They aren't even that much younger. And it's as much out of playful affection as anything. He has a kind of old-school, hard-core belief in ethics and honesty, and won't put up with bickering or backstabbing or badmouthing. His message to his top managers is this: "You make it work, and you back each other up." Kind of like what parents tell their kids. [??] Who is this "Dad"? His name is John Robbins, and he is chief executive officer of American Mortgage Network, San Diego. This month he also becomes chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). [??] These people who call him "Dad" are among the colleagues who have worked with him the longest. They know him so well, they really are like family. They have been members of Robbins' senior management teams at company after company. And he leads them in a steady, strong way that has earned their trust. [??] The first to join the family was Jay Fuller. He got a cold call from a thirty-something, first-time chief executive officer (CEO) who was building a mortgage company for a big California thrift. It was 1983, and Fuller remembers that Robbins was "painting a picture of starting a company, which was exciting." Turns out that painting-a-picture stuff is one of Robbins' key gifts. He's very persuasive.

Judy Berry joined Robbins not long after Fuller. Both have been on a lengthy, shared journey with this self-made man.

Robbins has built companies that have survived under every phase of the mortgage-banking moon. That accomplishment has come in a business that can be brutal to those not adept at spotting its sea changes. In an industry where massive changes have occurred over the last 30 years, and where retention is a chronic problem, many of Robbins' senior managers have followed him from company to company.

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Think of him as the Pied Piper of mortgage banking.

What is it that makes these people stick by him? Well, there are several things, really.

Let's start with the fact he clearly "gets" the business. You just have to look at the variety of companies he's built to see how well he understands how to match the corporate model to the market environment. Again and again he has built value for corporate parents, shareholders and employees--and he's done it through good times and bad. And he has always tried to do right by consumers.

As recently retired Berry puts it, "We really had to compete with good strategy, with good people, with a particular niche. John is very good at seeing those situations and piecing together something that will work, and seeing the need for change. He always really prides himself on reinventing, and thinking about what's going to be happening in the landscape."

Robbins sold his latest company in December 2005 to Wachovia Securities. There was something happening in the landscape.

The boom production year of 2003 prompted Robbins to start looking at what the industry should expect beyond that peak in the cycle. So, in 2004 he started thinking about the possible next move for his company. And what he saw was the need for a medium-sized originator to find a new home as part of a larger securitizing parent.

Baby pictures

On the large desk in his office in San Diego, he pores over an album of press clippings covering his different companies. He's like a proud father looking at baby pictures of his kids. The intensity and the fondness he feels are transparent and genuine. He gets completely wrapped up in these old newspaper and magazine headlines that bring back so many memories.

His office in San Diego is full of sports memorabilia. There are photos of him with Tiger Woods, where Robbins is presenting the trophy to the most famous golfer in the world when he won the Buick Invitational. Right below that is a shot of Robbins and Phil Mickelson.

His friends use works like "unassuming" and "humble" to describe Robbins, but also "fearless," "confident" and "ambitious."

Keith Johnson, vice chairman, Fieldstone Communities Inc., even uses the word "noble" to describe the man he has called a freind for more than three decades. Robbins saved Johnson's then-3-year-old son from drowning. And they have shared many quiet moments in the outdoors. They trek to places like Montana, Wyoming and Utah to hunt for big game like elk. Johnson says of him: "I think sometimes people, when they see a person who has a great deal of intra-personal skills and is not abrasive or is not overly assertive, they may assume the person is not a person of high ambition. And in John's case, that would be a mistake."

If you want a glimpse of Robbins' competitive side, the history of his career is filled with moments where he refused to take no for an answer. A walk through that career helps explain why people are so ready to follow him and blow by the naysayers. It also explains why his business family has remained so tight.

Mother knows best

When he chronicles his career, Robbins starts with his mother. He says she gave him three things for which he is grateful: She put him on earth, she picked his wife of 38 years (Laura) and she picked his profession.