After serving as the president of Academy Mortgage since 2016, James Mac Pherson was promoted in August 2019 to become the company’s CEO.
Mac Pherson has steadily worked his way up the ladder at Academy. Prior to being named president, Mac Pherson held management positions in compliance operations and helped build the company’s disclosure operations department and QA audit department. Mac Pherson also spent time as a regional and divisional manager.
Prior to moving into the company’s corporate office, Mac Pherson was an area manager, a branch manager and a loan officer in St. George, Utah, where he established Academy with 20% market share. Under Mac Pherson’s leadership as president, Academy closed 37,138 loans for a total of $9.04 billion in 2018, ranking the company among the top independent purchase lenders in the country and a top-30 lender overall.
Mac Pherson also helped launch mobile and AI technology to enhance the mortgage process and allow loan officers to originate from anywhere. Beyond that, Academy also expanded its product portfolio to more than 200 loan solutions.
Mac Pherson also played a key role in establishing several leadership, training, and overall company-wide initiatives. Included among those where the Torch Bearer sales program, a program that resulted in a 113% increase in quarterly production for nearly half of the participants in 2018. Beyond that, the company also launched the Leadership Academy, an internal executive management program for the company’s top leaders, which is now in its third session.
What one habit has made a crucial difference in your success?
“Listening and seeking to understand others’ perspectives. In doing so, truth can be revealed to make the best decision possible.”
