The financial world is much different now as David James “DJ” Effler prepares to become Bellwether Enterprise's new CEO than when he joined the commercial mortgage banking firm a dozen years ago.

Back then the economy was emerging from the Great Recession and poised for a nearly decade-long economic run-up with interest rates near 0%. Now, some say the country could go into recession, and interest rates are the highest they’ve been in 16 years.

“It's a time now when transactions are slowing significantly," Effler told CoStar News in an interview. "When you are taking over leadership at a time like this, I think it gives me and team the opportunity to really look hard at all the different areas of our company and make sure that our processes are as efficient as they as they possibly can be."

Effler takes over as CEO of Bellwether Enterprise, or BWE, later this week. He will succeed Ned Huffman, who will remain a special adviser to the company.

After graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 2000, Effler kicked off his real estate career at Nationwide Insurance, where the headquarters were a short walk-up High Street from where he lived in Columbus’ Short North neighborhood. The man who hired him at Nationwide, Todd Harrop, now is Bellwether’s national director of conventional loan production.

Effler has been integral to BWE's growth over the span of the firm. He's served as president since 2020, leading multiple company initiatives with a focus on production, talent retention and recruitment along with numerous investor relationships.

A Toldeo, Ohio, native, he also oversaw the firm's office in Columbus, Ohio. Effler previously served as an executive vice president and built the Columbus team from 2011 through 2020.

During Effler’s time at BWE, the firm has grown markedly. With his help, Bellwether had facilitated $14 billion in multifamily and commercial loan originations through last year. The firm also has grown to service a loan portfolio close to $50 billion. In fact, BWE was the third-largest producer of senior housing loans for Fannie Mae in 2022.

“What I'm inheriting here is a very clean balance sheet, which is terrific, especially in times like this,” he said.

Effler sees the reduced transaction volume and tighter underwriting of loans of today’s market as further steppingstones to continue the Cleveland-based company’s growth.

“Ultimately, in today's market, you need to have the full-service platform, which means you need to own the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Federal Housing Finance Administration licenses, as well as, as have the correspondent kind of life insurance company relationships,” Effler said. “A lot of the more independent mortgage banking firms over the last few years or over the last decade have realized that they need to be with a larger pool service shop that has the platform that we have. I think we've got a lot of runway there at the end of the day.”

In moving forward, Effler said he plans to rely heavily on BWE's 450 employees.

“There's just going to be more talent across the country that are going to have a say in how we strategically advance Bellwether going forward and so the executive team might look a little different and in the cadence of meetings might be a little different,” he said.

Effler's rise to CEO comes with the blessing of BWE founder and outgoing CEO Huffman.

“After an exceptional year, BWE’s future has never been brighter and DJ is the clear choice to lead the company into the next phase of its growth,” Huffman said in a statement. “I feel that now is the appropriate time for me to focus on strategic initiatives with DJ and spend more time on my personal interests. DJ has been a close colleague and friend of mine for many years, and I look forward to collaborating on a seamless transition and continuing to support the team.”

Outside of work, Effler is an avid outdoorsman and actively supports charitable causes throughout Columbus. In August, he and his wife plan to participate in Pelotonia 2023, a 50-mile bike ride from downtown Columbus to New Albany, Ohio. The ride raises money for cancer research.

Pelotonia directs 100% of every dollar raised by participants to cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, The center includes the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology.

This will be the seventh Pelotonia ride for Effler, who's raised a total of $217,010 for the cause of seeking to end cancer, according to Pelotonia.