Interview with Paul Zelder | Head of Origination
How long have you been with credX?
I have been with credX since July 2021.
What did you do before that?
Before that, I worked in commercial real estate financing at a commercial bank. There, I initially worked in the back office for two years and handled the disbursement processes as well as portfolio financing. I then moved to the market for a year, where I mainly looked after asset managers and processed financing inquiries. All in all, I got to know the full spectrum of commercial real estate financing during these three years and accompanied large-volume financings for real estate in Germany and other European countries.
How did you hear about credX?
A former colleague joined credX and asked me if I would like to switch to credX. I was quickly enthusiastic and was on board at credX after just a few conversations.
What does a typical day at work look like?
As a relationship manager, I look after asset managers and investors. The spectrum is wide and includes both feasibility analyses of financing requests and support through to disbursement. The users of our platform are always in the foreground. Our mission is to ensure structured and smooth processes, at the end of which is the financing success.
In addition to ongoing support, the acquisition of new customers plays a major role. We are growing strongly and want to continue to do so.
What is important to you? What motivates you?
credX offers you the opportunity to work independently and on your own responsibility. In addition, there is a “we can” mentality in which one’s own ideas can be brought in and implemented. You can always rely on your colleagues and experience great support in the team. And that both remotely and on-site in the office.
Why did you choose credX?
During my time at the bank, I noticed that many processes are still handled manually and are inefficient. This is partly due to the lack of digitization in banks and partly due to the complex and often non-transparent processes. Specifically, this means, for example, that many banks are still unable to use external data rooms. In the case of document-intensive processes, this leads to documents being sent in a confusing manner by mail or, in the worst case, by USB stick. In addition, it is often not clear which capital providers are actually eligible for the real estate investors’ projects. This leads to relationship managers reviewing many requests that they are ultimately unable to implement. All this leads to inefficiencies and wasted resources.
credX offers a solution through its platform, which is already used by many established asset managers and investors. The document management is simplified and accelerated with the help of proven tools and due to the own investor database only investors are suggested which are relevant for the project. This reduces the verification effort and saves the parties a lot of time.
So we combine traditional and large-volume business with innovative technology. I particularly like the fact that the focus is always on the future – it’s about driving innovation forward and not, as is so often the case, maintaining the status quo. The feedback from investors and borrowers is extremely good. This motivates us and confirms that our path is the right one.
Dear Paul, thank you for the interview!