2019 Ones to Watch: Jesse Iadanza, AmTrust Title

Name: Jesse Iadanza, Esq.

Title: Senior Underwriter

Company Name: AmTrust Title

Year that you entered your current field? 2013

Who or what do you attribute to your success? 

As is true with every parcel of real estate, each transaction is unique and comes with its own set of facts and circumstances that must be carefully analyzed and considered. I attribute my success as an underwriter to learning as much as I can from every transaction and experience - extracting what I’ve learned from previous deals and applying that knowledge to identify and resolve the issues of future transactions with new and enhanced solutions tailored to each specific circumstance. 

What advice can you offer to someone who is interested in a career in your industry? 

There are many aspects to each real estate transaction and each of those has an interplay with the others. My advice to an aspiring real estate professional would be to analyze every side of the deal and gather as much information as you can from all perspectives. Learn what is critical to the seller, the buyer, the broker, etc. and then discern how these interests align to produce a successful transaction and ask yourself how you fit into this. 

How have your life experiences impacted who you are professionally? 

As a child, my father told me (jokingly, I think) that I should never be the smartest one among my friends. At first, this advice seemed preposterous, but it stuck with me for some reason. I’ve grown to understand the wisdom behind what he meant: Thinking you are the smartest person in the room can lead to arrogance and, therefore, a failure to learn from those around you. Whether it be friends, colleagues, mentors, superiors, or subordinates - each person has valuable insights, experiences, and knowledge to offer. I’ve applied this mindset in my personal and professional life to enhance my professional abilities. 

What was your favorite thing to do as a kid? 

As a sociable kid, I enjoyed participating in the pastimes of my group which included football, basketball, tag, etc. I was fortunate to have many neighbors with children of my age group, affording us the ability to field two opposing teams for any competition we chose. Unfortunately, I don’t think kids today have the same appetite to engage in outdoor team activities as we did, and I believe that they may be missing out on vital life experiences.