Sarah Wolak: Started consulting with MLB in March. How did that grow into MLB status and ownership?
Laura Brandao: Sam, the CEO and largest shareholder of MLB, I worked for in 2005 as a young operations leader, and that was the place where I learned wholesale. Like, before that moment, I had worked in stores, so I only knew sales.
That was when there was a lot of subprime lending, and in 2007, when everything started to crash, I got very nervous about the amount of subprime loans that everybody was doing. I mean, we were all very nervous about it.
So I reached out to the account manager and asked if there was somewhere that might be safe, and that’s when I became the number 1 employee and wholesale builder. American Financial Services (AFR). But I learned how to wholesale from Sam Lamparello.
After AFR, I went into consulting. One day, I went to California to look for a client, and my cell phone rang. It was Sam and he said, ‘Laura, obviously, you’ve grown a lot in 20 years. You’ve certainly learned a lot and done good things, and I see you’re talking to each other, how would you like to have a conversation?’ We jumped on the phone and he said, ‘Listen, my heart is very much bought … and I’d like you to come and tell us how to make things better, create systems and make them a well-oiled machine.’
So I joined. After a few months, Sam was like, ‘Laura, maybe we should turn this into something big.’ And I said, ‘To be honest, I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. I would like us to be really ready for you. I really want us to have a strong foundation. I want an operation.’
I wanted to have a CRM that uses AI and enables account managers to work smarter instead of harder. I want to make sure I have my marketing dialed in. I want to make sure that I have programs that set us apart, that make us unique. So we worked on that and made my position official on Jan. 5, 2026.
Wolak: I know this is a loaded question, but how did your role go from being a consultant and board advisor, as you called it, to what you do now? What are your responsibilities?
Brandao: It’s completely different — and it’s a different idea. If you are a consultant, you are looking at it from an outside perspective. If you are the president of a company, or any position you hold, you have an insider’s view.
One of the first things I did on Monday was send a message to the entire company. I said, ‘Gentlemen, I want to tell you that I believe in a high level of transparency, and I’m going to be very communicative with all of you, in the fact that every morning, you’re going to get an email from me.’ That email will include where we are, how many loans we received yesterday, how many families we helped and, of course, our goal to hit by Dec. 31, 2026.
I also said that my emails would be thoughtful. We meditated yesterday. When team members do something, we need to share that with the rest of the company. I created this thing called ‘Remarkable Awards’ so that every day, we can nominate people from within.
Some of the things that have changed now that I am president is that I have set ground rules: cameras are on all the time, efficient meetings, and if you don’t come prepared to the meeting, you are asked to leave. Time is money. Time is of the essence. Time must work and be successful. These are the rules we will all play by.
Wolak: Considering that you have set high goals for yourself in 2026, what strategies are you and the company using to attract top talent and retain top producers that will fulfill MLB’s mission?
Brandao: I have the pleasure of being in this industry for a long time. When I built my first wholesale lender, I knew nothing. I was flying by the seat of my pants and trying to figure out how to put the fire out.
It’s not the way things are anymore. And I’ve learned a lot that who you do business with is more important than how you do business. I know the type of people who fit our mission of ‘making lives better’. And I can tell you that there are many people who are qualified in this field and there are also many people who are not qualified.
For me, it is very important for me to make sure that it is not the resume, it is not the level of experience, but rather your attitude, your heart and leading with a servant’s mind. I can teach you how to process a loan or write a loan, but I can’t teach you that feeling of wanting to help our customers, our vendors and our lenders who send us money, and understanding their families.
I believe in lifting all the time. Everyone is different. If I hire you as an account manager, I’ll say to you, ‘Where do you want to go now?’ If you tell me you want to be a VA underwriter, because you’re a veteran, I’ll say, ‘OK, we’ll get a road map of what you need to get to the next level.’ If you’re a marketer, I want you to far exceed any income level you’ve reached. Let’s go upstairs.
Wolak: You said you wanted to get a better CRM and better technology for loan officers before you joined the MLB team. Which of these creative strategies and technologies are you using to influence your channel’s growth and improve your team?
Brandao: CRM was definitely number 1 on my list, because as soon as I arrived, the team told me they didn’t have a CRM. So I reached out LinkedIn in one of my former clients a salesperson who started his own company, built a CRM. I asked if he could help me build something at the mall.
Within six months, he had built a CRM from scratch. Not only did they customize the CRM specifically for the wholesale environment, but they also created a custom reseller approval portal. The second thing I did for the underwriting side was to work with a technology company to run every new file with AI for the underwriter to have after it was updated.
In addition, one of the problems we had was the review of the condos. They were very difficult; the program did not go well and was really volatile. We found an amazing partner with a great AI system, which also made things faster, more efficient and cost-effective, and now we have a nice, streamlined process flow.
We released, I think, five or six new products. Some of them are specialty products because of my industry contacts, and some things were just things we expanded on. For example, a VA repair loan. MLB didn’t do VA adjustments before, but now we do.
Wolak: What are you most excited about in this role and next year?
Brandao: I have been doing wholesale for many years. I’ve watched many, many sales cycles – from the subprime crashes and the buyers gone, then the seller boom.
I think wholesale lending is going to be the new growth sector in 2026 and beyond. I absolutely believe it’s a great place to be. I think the brokers are solid and know what they are doing. They understand the importance of cooperation. They understand the importance of having options, independence and the ability to make the best decisions for the families they serve and the partners they work with.
