Paul Keefer

Team-Oriented Leader & Product Manager

Six Sigma Black Belt 21+ Years Leadership Construction & Maintenance Financial Lending Expert Software & IT
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Paul Keefer - Smiling and Approachable

Professional Summary

Team-oriented leader with over 21 years of corporate management experience.

With 30 years in financial lending Sales, Operations, and Compliance I bring a wealth of mortgage banking expertise. As a Black Belt in Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing I am adept at driving continuous improvement. I have a proven ability to achieve executive goals while collaborating with cross-department teams. I have worked across the U.S. in both in-office and remote environments.

Snowshoeing with the team
Working on construction with a friend
Community service project
Paul with a colleague
Paul with David and Chris
Paul working with rebar
Service project team
The old crew
Paul with a teammate
Collaborative planning with blueprints

Core Competencies

Management

Department Management & Executive Alignment

Manufacturing

DMAIC & Lean Manufacturing (5Ss, 8 Areas of Waste)

Compliance

Mortgage Lending Compliance & Risk Management

Analytics

HMDA Reporting, Fraud Audits & Data Analytics

Product

Product Management & SOP Development

Technical

Encompass Administration & GUI/UX Design (VOC)

Sales

Consumer direct, B2B, and Sales Support

Operations

Daily execution, team leadership, and continuous improvement

Project

Project Manager, Business Owner, and Voice of Customer (VOC)

Professional Experience

Dec 2024 — Feb 2026

Product Manager

Peak Residential Lending

  • Led product identification and documented build blueprints for financial products.
  • Developed marketing materials and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for operations.
  • Co-Managed HMDA data quality and regulatory reporting.
  • Championed continuous improvement of launched products to support sales and operations teams.
Nov 2023 — Nov 2024

Quality Assurance Team

Edwards Lifesciences

  • Conducted cleanroom inspections and audits to ensure compliance with FDA ISO Class 4 Cleanroom standards.
  • Monitored SOP adherence and redirected staff thereby maintaining quality targets within high-precision medical manufacturing environments.
June 2011 — April 2023

Multiple Corporate Management Roles

Academy Mortgage

  • Served as Product Desk Manager, Credit Authority Manager, Risk Manager, and Post Closing Manager for a national mortgage bank.
  • Performed fraud audits, quality audits, and credit policy exception research for executive leadership.
  • Managed software administration, developed educational job aids, and oversaw loss mitigation processes.
Jan 2009 — June 2010

National Closing & Funding Manager

SecurityNational Mortgage

  • Directed national closing and funding functions, managing and training staff nationwide.
  • Identified process gaps and conducted retraining for Closers and Funders.
  • Collaborated with Warehouse Line management and Funding Desk teams.
Feb 2006 — Dec 2009

President and Owner

The Processing Department, Inc.

  • Managed all aspects of C-Corp entity creation, growth, and operations.
  • Designed business process flows and GUI mockups for custom software development.

Diverse Experience & Skills

White Collar

23 years corporate management

Trades

Hobby Homebuilder: Equipment operation, framing, OSHA, blueprint reading, and crew management

Blue Collar

University of Utah Grounds Crew. Landscaping Crew Chief.

Light-Blue Collar

9 years photo lab experience: MSDS, OSHA, and precision manufacturing excellence. 1 year FDA Cleanroom medical manufacturing Quality Assurance.

Sales

7 years straight commissioned Mortgage Loan Officer

Software

Waterfall, AGILE, plus Vibe Coding custom software development, SCRUM Master, Admin, Testing, and VOC experienced

Paul in beanie and plaid
Paul Keefer selfie
Paul in a suit
Paul Keefer in the garden
Paul Keefer wearing a bandana

Education

Bachelor of Science, Communications

Emphasis in Public Speaking | University of Utah

Minor in Creative Writing

Certifications

  • Six Sigma Black Belt Certification — David Eccles School of Business
  • Lean Manufacturing Certification — David Eccles School of Business
  • Executive Leadership Series — David Eccles School of Business
  • Licensed Mortgage Loan Officer (UT & NV) — NMLS #308286
  • Eagle Scout, BSA