Iannitti founded DocMagic in 1987, making it one of the oldest and longest-running companies in the business. His co-founder, Pat Theodora, the chief financial officer, becomes CEO at the company, which provided document generation as well as eMortgage services, including remote online notarizations.

"He was a true pioneer in our industry and a mentor to many," Theodora said in a press release. "I am committed to honoring his legacy by continuing to drive innovation and deliver exceptional solutions to clients.

"This is what my friend and partner would have wanted, and I am laser-focused on implementing the company's succession plan without any interruption to operations."

Among those paying tribute to Iannitti was Community Home Lenders of America President Taylor Stork.

"We are devastated to hear of Dominic's passing," Stork said in a statement. "As a longstanding industry veteran exits our space, we lose a wealth of knowledge and experience that is vital to the future of housing mortgage."

In a post on LinkedIn, Andrew Liput, president and CEO of Secure Insight, said, "We share the shock and sadness felt by so many throughout the mortgage industry on the untimely passing of DocMagic CEO Dominic Iannitti. We were honored to work with him in supporting his vision with regard to digital mortgages and RON expansion and had tremendous respect for his knowledge, vision and leadership."

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization said it was deeply saddened to hear about Iannitti's passing.

"He was an exceptional person and impacted our industry for the better through his innovative work at DocMagic," David Coleman, president of MISMO, said in a statement. "Our hearts are with his family, our industry colleagues and the employees at DocMagic during this difficult time. He will be greatly missed."

Another long-time mortgage technologist also remembered Iannitti fondly. "He was definitely a technology innovator and leader and had a unique talent to approach common day issues with well designed, logical user friendly solutions," said Tim Anderson, the executive vice president and head of digital mortgage strategy at Stavvy, and at one time an executive at DocMagic.

Under Iannitti's leadership, DocMagic was named a three-time Top 50 Service Provider by Mortgage Technology Magazine, a sister publication to National Mortgage News.

In June, Iannitti became a two-time winner of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Tech All-Star Award for his work in digital mortgages.

He and DocMagic also received numerous accolades from other industry publications.

"As we mourn the loss of our friend and business inspiration, DocMagic's longtime leadership team is well-prepared to remain steadfast in our mission and commitment to excellence in the mortgage technology space," Lori Johnson, the company's chief operating officer said. "We have already implemented a comprehensive succession plan to ensure a seamless transition."

Details regarding a memorial service will be forthcoming. However, the family, in lieu of flowers, is asking that donations be made in Iannitti's name to one of two charities he supported: the World Family Foundation and/or the Lunada Bay Little League.