John Elias

Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer

As Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer, John Elias directs Rate’s business strategy, guiding managers across the country in their efforts to enhance profitability, move into new markets and increase originations. He served in a number of senior roles at Rate for almost a decade and oversaw the acquisition of over twenty brokerage firms from 2008 to 2012. He also plays a prominent role in recruiting and developing the next generation of talent that ensures the company’s future success.

John is an athlete and sports nut at heart who played collegiate baseball at SUNY Fredonia and now takes great joy in watching his two boys develop the same love for the competition and teamwork that enriched his life.

“Teamwork is what our Pod model is all about,” he says, referring to Rate’s internal business mechanism. “It takes the administrative tasks out of the salespeople’s hands so they can spend more time originating and developing new business. It’s way ahead of the competition and it’s a big attractor for new talent. The model is also reflective of one of my favorite core values at Rate, hold ourselves and others accountable, allowing for great personal and organizational growth.”

As one of its earliest employees, John is extremely proud of Rate’s exponential growth. “What attracted me in the beginning was the energetic, fun environment; it’s the same way today. That’s really why we’ve been so successful. Very few companies in the world experience this kind of growth, and I attribute that to Victor and his unique vision. One of the knocks on the mortgage industry is that it’s old and behind the times, that it fails to adapt. No one can look at our culture and our people, our technology, our resilience in down markets, and say that about Rate.”

In 2020, John was recognized with HousingWire’s Vanguard Award for contributing to the growth of the housing economy through his leadership and initiatives at Rate.