2021 Year in Review: Laura Wild, Vice President/State Manager, First American Title Insurance Company

How has your working environment changed over the last year? For me and most of my team, being flexible and either working from home a few days a week, or heading into the office, depending on what’s going on with the pandemic and how it affected the team members, their families and contacts, determined whether we came into work, or needed to work from home. Each day, you just had to wait and see if it was going to be a home office day or make the drive in.

What was your greatest professional accomplishment or notable project deal or transaction in 2021? Really just being able to manage our team, either remotely or in the office. Being able to continue to provide the level of service our clients needed during an unprecedented year both in the volume of real estate transactions and fighting COVID, it’s been truly remarkable how we’ve been able to continue our commitment of service to our customers!

What are your predictions for your industry in 2022? I believe, and we’ve already seen it, the refi market will continue to slow and fall off, however, real estate sales will remain strong for residential and hopefully commercial as well.

What’s the best advice you have received, and who was it from? Life is all about managing your expectations, most of all your own, was something my father said to me, and I repeat it to myself often.

Biggest Lesson Learned: Technology is the future. The pandemic accelerated the need for businesses to change their infrastructure. Working from home has become the new normal, not the exception to the rule.