Anyone who’s worked with Sandra Calla (Carano) knows her reputation for customer service excellence and unparalleled knowledge of the mortgage sector. What they might not realize is that her initial entry into the industry was anything but conventional.

As a Senior Underwriter and our Director of Operations responsible for the overall customer journey here at Outline Financial, Sandra has extensive experience working with lenders in structuring and packaging deals that make the most financial sense for our clients, not to mention creating a results-driven customer service experience. But her original career path was very different. After graduating from York University with a B.A. in business, Sandra took on a role as a Service Coordinator at a Toronto-area luxury automotive retailer. One day she was helping two clients who were so impressed by her service skills and enthusiastic demeanour that they offered her a job. They both happened to be mortgage brokers. Coming from a family of bankers and having a life-long love of numbers, Sandra decided it was time to take a dramatic career u-turn. She accepted the offer and began training to be a mortgage agent.

Sandra would go on to work with several financial institutions including Scotiabank where she served as a Manager of Retail Credit Risk, and as a Senior Underwriter for both Canadiana Financial and Macquarie Financial. Along the way, she picked up a nomination for Best Lender Underwriter of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Mortgage Awards. In those early days Sandra also nurtured a passion for helping others. “I love securing mortgage funding for our clients because I know I’ve done something to help improve their lives. As a professional, doing the most for my clients means staying up to date on policy and rule changes, understanding the very best rates in the market and then providing the right advice.”

What Sandra wants you to know about Outline Financial:  “Our customer experience goes well beyond taking a client application and submitting it to the lender. We get to know our clients, learn about their short- and long-term personal financial goals, then help them choose the right lender and product to suit their unique needs. I love the fact that our team is completely committed to doing what’s right for our customers, while being fully supportive of each other’s success by offering help, ideas and innovation whenever it’s needed. That says a lot about the strength of our company culture.”

Here’s what you may not know about Sandra:  She’s a huge golf fan who used to hit the links at least every two weeks. When her baby arrived, playing time took a back seat to diaper changes and feeds, but Sandra still tries to play several rounds a season. Of course, that’s when she’s not busy planning her next adventure—California, Greece, Italy and Spain are her favourite destinations—spending time with her family or immersing herself in a new book (biographies are her read of choice).