Former ICE Mortgage exec Joe Tyrrell named Optimal Blue CEO

Joe Tyrrell, the former president of ICE Mortgage Technology, is taking over as CEO of Optimal Blue, replacing interim CEO Scott Smith.

To gain Federal Trade Commission approval for Intercontinental Exchange to acquire Optimal Blue’s former parent Black Knight, the product and pricing engine needed to be sold. It was during that approval process that Tyrrell left ICE Mortgage Technology.

Optimal Blue is now owned by Constellation Software. Smith is and will remain president of Andromeda, the Constellation portfolio unit that Optimal Blue is a part of.

(In a separate transaction also conducted to satisfy regulatory concerns, Constellation acquired the origination technology business of Black Knight, which has now been rebranded as Dark Matter.)

“It was a priority to identify the right leader to support our investment in Optimal Blue and the long-term success of the business,” said Smith in a press release. “We’ve found that and more with Joe Tyrrell, who is passionate about client relationships and innovation – two tenets that have been core to Optimal Blue’s culture throughout its decades as a market leader.”

Tyrrell is also joining Optimal Blue as ICE Mortgage Technology is looking to be a stronger rival in its business segment by making investments into the native product and pricing engine in the Encompass loan origination system.

Tyrrell was a long-time Ellie Mae executive who moved into the president’s job at ICE Mortgage Technology after those organizations were combined in September 2020 and former Ellie Mae CEO Jonathan Corr retired.

After leaving ICE Mortgage Technology in March 2023, Tyrrell became the CEO of Medallia, a customer and employee experience company. Medallia is owned by Thoma Bravo, which acquired Ellie Mae in February 2019 before selling it to Intercontinental Exchange.

“I have always been attracted to companies that make their clients’ success their top priority, and that is especially true with Optimal Blue,” said Tyrrell in a press release. “For the past year and a half, I have been delivering innovation and real generative AI capabilities to the largest and most trusted consumer, health care, hospitality, financial services, and technology brands in the world, and I am excited to now bring those capabilities to Optimal Blue’s lenders and partners in an industry that I love.”

Tyrrell rejoined Ellie Mae in 2010, eventually becoming chief operating officer, after an initial stint at the mortgage technology company between 2001 and 2005.