Founder, President and CEO
Freedom Mortgage
Stanley C. Middleman serves as the President and CEO of Freedom Mortgage: one of the largest and fastest-growing, independent mortgage companies in the country. He is a nationally recognized business strategist, investor and philanthropist, with nearly 40 years of experience within the mortgage banking industry. Since founding Freedom Mortgage in 1990, Mr. Middleman has grown the company into one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, both as an originator and servicer.
Middleman is a coveted speaker, frequently addressing peers, housing industry veterans, government officials, business leaders, community groups and students on a variety of topics, including entrepreneurship, leadership, customer service and building communities through homeownership.
Middleman is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), where he has served on the Board of Directors and Residential Board of Governors. He is currently a member of the Housing Policy Executive Council and serves on the Board of Directors for Sagent. He has previously served on the advisory board of the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) as well as the Chairman of the Board of the Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp., a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Middleman has also served on numerous advisory boards within the mortgage industry, including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ellie Mae.
Additionally, Middleman is an active investor, including in the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, where he serves as Vice Chairman.
Middleman also serves on several nonprofit boards, including Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, The Philadelphia Art Museum and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Foundation Board of Advisors. In 2022, Middleman and his family made a personal donation to support the opening of CHOP’s second hospital in King of Prussia, Pa.
Under Middleman’s watch, Freedom Mortgage has been honored with the Top Workplaces USA Award and, in 2022, as a Best-in-Class Employer by Gallagher. In 2021, the company was named one of the Most Loved Workplaces by Newsweek. Last year, Freedom Mortgage was back on the Inc. 5000 Honor Roll (since 2021), for the ninth time, as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country.
Recently, Middleman was recognized as a Power 50 leader in the region by South Jersey Biz Magazine. In 2023, he was named one of the 150 Most Influential Philadelphians by Philadelphia magazine, honored with the Legends of Lending Award by Mortgage Banker Magazine, and the Industry Titans Award by National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
In 2022, Middleman was honored with the Distinguished Career Award by the Mortgage Executive Roundtable and as a City & State PA Impact 50 leader. He was identified by South Jersey Business Magazine as a top CEO in 2021.
In 2020, Glassdoor named Middleman the fifth highest-rated CEO for effectively leading his employees and the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also honored among Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs in 2020.
Middleman was the recipient of the 2019 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Greater Philadelphia Award in the financial services category. Additionally, in 2019, Middleman was named the American Cancer Society of Southern New Jersey Individual Honoree of the Year. He is also a recipient of the Temple University Fox School of Business Corporate Award, as well as the Fox School of Business Centennial Award.
In 2018, Middleman received HousingWire‘s prestigious Vanguard Award. A strong supporter of U.S. active-duty military and veterans, Middleman received the 2018 Liberty USO Chairman’s Award in honor of his company’s service to the military community within Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.