Brian Grzebin is a distinguished financial services executive whose career spans more than twenty-six years of leadership, innovation, and transformational impact within the banking and mortgage industries. Throughout his professional journey, he has built a reputation as a results-driven leader who combines operational excellence with a deep commitment to customer service, employee development, and organizational growth. His ability to optimize performance while maintaining the highest ethical and quality standards has positioned him as a trusted executive, advisor, and strategic partner within some of the nation’s most recognized financial institutions.
Currently serving as President of Mortgage Banking for Univest Bank and Trust Company, Brian leads the organization’s consumer and mortgage banking production efforts, overseeing residential mortgages, home equity lending, construction financing, and personal lending operations. In this role, he maintains direct responsibility for an annual loan production volume of approximately $800 million while managing a portfolio of more than $1 billion in loans held for investment. His leadership has been instrumental in strengthening operational efficiency, improving profitability, and enhancing customer experience. Shortly after joining Univest, he implemented process improvements and system enhancements that reduced cycle times by 25 percent, demonstrating his immediate ability to identify opportunities and execute meaningful change.
Brian’s impact at Univest extends far beyond operational metrics. By leveraging innovative sales tools and refining product offerings, he successfully increased loan officer production by 22 percent year-over-year. His commitment to risk management and quality assurance resulted in the implementation of stronger policies and controls that reduced operational defect rates from 16 percent to just 1 percent within a year. Additionally, his development of a comprehensive staffing and capacity model significantly improved organizational efficiency and reduced operating costs per loan by 30 percent. These accomplishments reflect his unique ability to align strategic objectives with operational execution while fostering sustainable growth.
Before joining Univest, Brian served as Executive Vice President of National Operations for Guaranteed Rate Affinity, a newly formed joint venture between Guaranteed Rate and Realogy. During this critical period of organizational formation, he played a pivotal leadership role in transitioning approximately 1,000 employees across multiple regional locations into the new company. He designed and executed a complex transition strategy that balanced business continuity with organizational integration, ensuring a seamless migration of personnel, systems, and operational processes. As a member of the executive leadership team, he helped shape the company’s business plan, growth strategy, human capital initiatives, and financial objectives, further demonstrating his ability to lead during periods of transformation and change.
A significant portion of Brian’s career was spent with PHH Mortgage Corporation, where he held progressively senior leadership positions over nearly two decades. As Vice President of Mortgage Operations, he managed a 350-person organization with responsibility for productivity, budgeting, compensation strategies, operational performance, and customer satisfaction. Under his leadership, PHH implemented numerous operational improvements that enhanced scalability, efficiency, and compliance. His work included the consolidation of processing centers into strategic regional hubs, the development of a multi-investor platform leveraging Encompass 360 technology, and the creation of innovative fulfillment models that streamlined mortgage operations while improving service delivery.
Brian’s leadership at PHH also positioned him at the forefront of regulatory and compliance initiatives. He was instrumental in developing and implementing policies and procedures related to significant industry regulations, including Dodd-Frank reforms and the TRID requirements that reshaped mortgage lending practices across the United States. His expertise in risk management, compliance, and operational governance enabled his organizations to successfully navigate complex regulatory environments while maintaining high performance standards. These experiences have given him a sophisticated understanding of enterprise risk management, governance frameworks, and financial oversight that translates exceptionally well to board service.
Earlier in his career, Brian demonstrated a natural aptitude for leadership while serving in operational management roles at Cendant Mortgage, which later became PHH Mortgage. Rising through positions that included Closing Specialist, Lead Closer, Closing Supervisor, and Wholesale/Correspondent Operations Manager, he consistently delivered measurable improvements in productivity, customer service, and process efficiency. His ability to identify inefficiencies and implement innovative solutions generated significant cost savings and operational improvements, including the development of a bulk purchase process that reduced client funding timelines by two weeks. These foundational experiences helped shape his philosophy that operational excellence serves as the cornerstone of long-term organizational success.
One of Brian’s defining strengths is his expertise in process improvement and organizational optimization. Throughout his career, he has applied Six Sigma principles and continuous improvement methodologies to solve complex business challenges, reduce costs, improve quality, and increase profitability. His completion of Black Belt for Leaders training further strengthened his ability to analyze systems, eliminate waste, and create scalable business processes. Whether leading a large operational transformation, improving customer satisfaction metrics, or designing organizational structures to support growth, Brian consistently demonstrates a disciplined and strategic approach to execution.
In addition to his executive leadership accomplishments, Brian has meaningful governance experience through his service on the board and management committee of an appraisal management company joint venture between PHH Mortgage and CoreLogic. This experience provided direct exposure to board-level decision-making, strategic planning, risk oversight, and stakeholder management. Throughout his career, he has regularly interacted with boards of directors, executive committees, regulators, investors, and strategic partners, further strengthening his understanding of governance responsibilities and organizational stewardship.
Brian’s expertise spans mortgage banking, residential lending, underwriting, credit analysis, FHA and VA lending programs, process improvement, operational leadership, financial analysis, regulatory compliance, risk management, and strategic planning. His unique combination of operational rigor and business development mindset enables him to evaluate opportunities from both a growth and execution perspective. He possesses a rare ability to balance innovation with risk management while ensuring that organizational objectives remain aligned with customer needs and shareholder expectations.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Brian is recognized as a collaborative leader who believes in empowering people to achieve their fullest potential. Throughout his career, he has mentored emerging leaders, developed high-performing teams, and fostered cultures of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement. His leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that successful organizations are built through strong relationships, clear communication, and a shared commitment to excellence. Colleagues frequently describe him as approachable, solutions-oriented, and deeply committed to helping individuals and organizations succeed.
Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Wilkes University. During his collegiate years, he demonstrated the same dedication and competitive spirit that would later define his professional career, lettering in both football and golf at the NCAA Division III level. Today, he remains passionate about golf, spending time at the beach, and sharing his expertise through industry presentations and lending-focused educational discussions. As he explores board service opportunities, Brian is motivated by a desire to leverage decades of executive leadership experience to help organizations navigate challenges, improve performance, and achieve sustainable growth.
Brian Grzebin brings a powerful combination of operational expertise, financial acumen, governance awareness, and transformational leadership to every organization he serves. His career reflects a consistent pattern of driving results, strengthening teams, managing risk, and creating value. With a proven record of success across multiple organizations and leadership roles, he is exceptionally well-positioned to contribute meaningful insight and strategic guidance in the boardroom.
Character:
Brian demonstrates unwavering integrity and consistently operates according to the highest ethical standards. He is known for fostering trust among colleagues, clients, and stakeholders through transparency and accountability. His commitment to helping others succeed reflects a leadership style grounded in respect, humility, and service.
Knowledge:
He possesses extensive expertise in mortgage banking, lending operations, credit analysis, compliance, and financial management. His decades of executive experience have provided him with a comprehensive understanding of both strategic and operational business challenges. He continuously applies his industry knowledge to improve performance, manage risk, and create sustainable value.
Strategic:
Brian excels at aligning long-term organizational objectives with practical execution strategies. He has repeatedly led transformational initiatives that improved profitability, operational efficiency, and customer outcomes. His ability to identify opportunities, anticipate challenges, and implement scalable solutions makes him a highly effective strategic leader.
Communication:
An engaging communicator who effectively connects with employees, executives, customers, regulators, and board members. He has extensive experience presenting on lending, operations, and business performance to diverse audiences. His ability to translate complex concepts into clear and actionable insights enables collaboration, alignment, and informed decision-making.
