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?
Prior to that, I worked in commercial real estate finance for a commercial bank. There, I initially worked for two years in back-office operations, processing disbursement processes and existing financing. I then moved to the front office for a year, where I primarily supported asset managers and processed financing requests. Overall, during these three years, I became familiar with the full spectrum of commercial real estate finance and supported large-volume financings for properties in Germany and other European countries.
How did you become aware of credX?
A former colleague moved to credX and asked me if I would like to join credX. I was quickly enthusiastic and joined credX after a few conversations.
What does a typical workday look like?
As a Relationship Manager, I support asset managers and investors. The spectrum is broad and includes both the feasibility analyses of financing requests and support up to disbursement. The users of our platform are always at the forefront. Our mission is to ensure structured and smooth processes that result in successful financing.
In addition to ongoing support, new customer acquisition 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 the opportunity to work independently and with personal responsibility. In addition, there is a “we can” mentality in which own ideas can be introduced and implemented. You can always rely on your colleagues and experience great support in the team. 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 due, on the one hand, to the lack of digitization of the banks and, on the other hand, to the complex and often intransparent processes. Specifically, this means, for example, that many banks are still unable to use external data rooms. In the document-intensive processes, this leads to the documents being sent in an unclear manner by e-mail or, in the worst case, by USB stick. In addition, it is often not clear which investors are actually eligible for the projects of the real estate investors. As a result, the Relationship Managers review many requests that they ultimately cannot implement. All of this leads to inefficiencies and wasted resources.
credX offers a solution through the platform, which is already used by many established asset managers and investors. Document management is simplified and accelerated with the help of proven tools, and only investors who are relevant to the project are suggested due to the company’s own investor database. This reduces the review effort and the parties save a lot of time.
So we combine the traditional and large-volume business with innovative technology. I particularly like the fact that the focus is always forward-looking – it is about driving innovation 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 very much for the interview!