John Morrissey
Senior Vice President-Operations | CFSI Loan Management
I served in the United States Army from July 14, 1992 until April 9, 2000.
My first permanent duty station in the Army was at Fort Stewart, Georgia as a Congressional Clerk. This position really set the tone for my military experience. The “Congressionals” Office received inquiries from members of Congress on behalf of their constituents assigned to the various units on Fort Stewart. These were typically complaints against soldier’s commands. This
job taught me how to research military regulations and how to interpret those regulations.
After Fort Stewart, I was then stationed in Mannheim, Germany. I had several positions there that culminated with my promotion to Corporal (a rare rank in the Army) and the position of Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge of Personnel Actions. I was personally responsible for two junior enlisted personnel, and the running of an office that processed 300+ requests from soldiers assigned to Mannheim. I had to not only manage the office and ensure all requests were processed in accordance with military regulations, but also ensure my soldiers were proficient in all of their military occupational specialty skills, physical fitness, and common skills (land navigation, weapons proficiency). Their success or failure was attributed to my leadership skills.
Combat and Beyond
I was deployed in support of Operation Joint Endeavor (Bosnia) and was in Croatia (considered a combat zone) in January-March 1996. I was part of a group tasked with keeping track of all Army personnel assigned to that theater.
Finally, I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington in the Officer Management Section. There I was tasked with assisting 5 senior officers in the task of Commissioned Officer assignments throughout Fort Lewis. This position was previously filled by a Staff Sergeant (E6). I was a Corporal (E4) and was recognized personally by the General for my efforts.
Military Lessons Learned
Leadership is JOB ONE for Non-Commissioned Officers in the Army. Once I became a Corporal, I had to step up to leading soldiers by example and by direct action. I learned that everyone needs to be led differently. What works with one person, does not help someone else. I use those lessons every day when leading my employees at CFSI. Discipline is the first, middle and last thing everyone learns in the Army. The Army definition of discipline is doing what is right, even in the absence of direct orders. Operationally, I learned how to manage workflow, meet deadlines, motivate people, attention to detail, making sure the work product is right, understandable, and concise. All these military lessons, experiences, and knowledge are used daily in my business career.
Everyone who has ever served in the military has at least one experience they will never forget. When I was in Croatia, the Officer in charge of our group (a Captain) decided that he wanted to go back to Hungary (our main duty station in the theater). On our way to Croatia, we were part of a large military convoy that was protected by armored vehicles. We had also been issued live ammunition in case of an ambush. Going back to Hungary we were not part of a convoy and we had no ammunition. I do not think I ever let the accelerator off the floor, except at stop signs the entire trip. We ran into a few bands of armed civilians, but just raced past them and they thankfully did not fire at us. We made it back to the Hungarian air base where we were assigned. It was the scariest several hours I had ever had in the Army!
The Transition
My enlistment was set to end in April 2000. I moved to Colorado and planned on taking a couple months off (on leave I was still getting paid by the Army). I lasted two weeks before I was looking for a job. Having no mission was not working out for me. I started applying for jobs in earnest and went in for an interview with a Construction Loan Risk Mitigation company in their Customer Service Department. I would love to say I was hired because of my incredible interview skills, but the real reason was the managers conducting the interview felt that I would show up to work based on my military experience. I stayed in the Customer Service Department for about a year, then went on to the Fund Control Department. After about six months in Fund Control, I was given the opportunity to interview for the open Supervisor of Project Review/Contractor Acceptance position. I got the job and used all my military leadership experience to turn that department around. I went on to be promoted to AVP of the same department, then Vice President of Fund Control. Several years later I helped start CFSI Loan Management with the goal of taking Construction Loan Risk Mitigation services to the next level.
Currently I am the Senior Vice President for Operations at CFSI. We provide Construction Loan Risk Mitigation Services to lenders across the United States. It is my job to ensure that we deliver top quality, accurate products in a timely manner. I have three VP level direct reports that I manage, and I handle major escalations from our lender clients. I am also the senior manager on site at our production office in Greenwood Village, Colorado so I deal with personnel, IT, and building issues as needed. I report directly to our President and work in partnership with him in creating new products and services.
All this because my company thought I would show up for work!
