Walter Investment Management Corp. has disclosed that its chairman and chief executive officer is retiring from both positions and will be replaced by an insider.
Mark J. O’Brien
served as chairman and CEO of subsidiaries of Walter Investment’s predecessor, Walter Industries Inc., since March 2006.
Following a reverse merger with a previously existing publicly traded real estate investment trust in 2009, O’Brien landed the chairman and CEO jobs at Walter Investment.
On Monday, the Tampa, Florida-based company announced that O’Brien
is retiring as CEO on Oct. 10.
In addition, he will relinquish his chairman post
at the end of this year.
“We respect Mark’s decision to retire and are grateful for his service and leadership during the significant growth and transformation of Walter Investment over the last six years,” Walter Investment Lead Independent Director Mike Tokarz said in the news release.
O’Brien is expected to continue as a director on Walter Investment’s board.
Taking the reins from O’Brien will be Walter Investment Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Denmar J. Dixon.
Dixon
has been on the board of directors since 2009, while he became an executive vice president in early 2013 and CIO in August 2013.
Before that, Dixon spent nearly a quarter-century at Banc of America Securities LLC.
“We are fortunate that Mark selected Denmar to join the company five years ago, as he has worked side-by-side with Mark and proven to be a critical player in the transformation of Walter Investment’s business and the execution of its corporate vision,” Tokarz added. “His knowledge of the mortgage sector and strong business acumen coupled with his hands-on management style make Denmar uniquely well-suited to lead Walter Investment.”
Dixon takes over a company that
originated $20 billion in home loans last year and $14 billion during the first half of this year.
The 6,000-employee entity serviced $229 billion in mortgages as of June 30.
