brokersoff-the-clock This interview with Laura Martin continues our series BROKERS OFF THE CLOCK. In every issue, we ask a mortgage broker to tell us what they like to do when they’re not behind a desk. Would you like to be profiled in a future edition – or suggest a fellow mortgage broker? Contact info@cmba-achc.ca
DIVERSITY
CHAMPION
Matrix Mortgage Global’s Laura Martin is a passionate promoter of diversity and inclusion in the Canadian mortgage industry BY LISA GORDON
“I
f you want to be seen as a thought leader, you first need to build your audience and do your homework.” Laura Martin has been in the mortgage business since age 20, and she’s definitely been doing her homework. As the chief operating officer of Matrix Mortgage Global in Toronto and the secretary of CMBA Ontario, Martin has learned a few important lessons over the past 13 years. But many of those realizations didn’t hit home until she went back to school, studying psychology and cognitive science while earning her Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto. Martin returned to the mortgage business in 2015 with a whole new appreciation for how to get the job done. “Business is fundamentally about people,” she says. “In my early 20s, I was kind of losing touch with this. I felt all I was doing was chasing paperwork.” Martin, now 33, tried to start her own mortgage brokerage right before returning to school, but admits she “really didn’t have it figured out when it came to running a business.”
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While she earned her degree, Martin also worked on building her personal resilience and emotional intelligence. She said going to school made her far more interested in working on the business, as opposed to working in the business. “I am much more focused on marketing and branding and operations,” she said. “I like problem solving and I’m focused on business development, but I’m also concerned with social change.” While Martin said women represent slightly more than half of mortgage professionals, she is still concerned because they are overlooked and under-represented at high-profile industry events, such as broker panels. So, when she’s not doing mortgage deals, Martin has made it her personal goal to effect change. “The need for diversity inclusion in the mortgage industry is great,” she said. “As of late, this is something I’ve been pretty focused on. It’s been about thought leadership and propelling women and minorities to the forefront. We’re not going to grow as an industry unless we hire and promote women. I think I can make the biggest impact