25 Years in the Business

Scott Cooley is an independent consultant with a client roster 

that includes many of the mortgage industry’s leading 

companies. He is an expert in a wide range of topics 

surrounding mortgage origination technology, from point of sale 

solutions to eMortgages  and on through post-closing 

automation.

Scott’s extensive experience in the mortgage industry began in 

1982 when he founded Contour Software, the first company to 

ever produce desktop mortgage loan origination software 

(LOS).  The invention of the desktop LOS was the start of a 

string of innovations and industry firsts which would shape the 

future of the mortgage industry.

By 1995, Contour Software had an established base of several 

thousand firms and was the leading provider of LOS solutions 

for the mortgage banking industry.   Scott led the company as 

President and CEO of Contour Software for 16 years, during 

which time he worked with thousands of mortgage company 

clients to understand their unique needs and produce 

technology solutions to meet them.  

In April 1998, Scott successfully sold Contour Software to First 

American Financial.  As part of the agreement, he remained 

active as President of Contour.  In February 2001, Scott 

engineered a spin-out of Contour from First American to Ellie 

Mae, a Pleasanton, California-based provider of Internet 

solutions for the mortgage industry.  In so doing, he successfully 

sold Contour Software twice in a matter of three years.  

At Ellie Mae, Scott served as Chief Strategy Officer, setting 

direction and defining strategy for the most successful 

transaction platform in the mortgage industry.

As a nationally recognized expert in mortgage technology, Scott 

has presented before Capitol Hill and has been a featured 

speaker at most industry conferences.  He regularly authors 

articles for industry publications such as Mortgage Originator 

and Mortgage Technology magazines, and writes a regular 

column for Mortgage Banking magazine, which is distributed to 

more than 10,000 subscribers.  Scott is also frequently quoted 

in American Banker, National Mortgage News, National Mortgage 

Broker, Origination News and Secondary Marketing Executive 

among many others.  In addition, he has been a frequent 

keynote speaker at industry conferences across the nation.   

Scott graduated from San Jose State University with a double 

concentration in management and marketing and a minor in 

computer science.  He enjoys running, biking, swimming, skiing, 

racing and boating.