Mortgage Firms Recruit Business Development Execs

Last month, Freddie Mac announced that Sara Mathew joined the Mclean, Va.-based firm’s board of directors. The 58-year-old executive was recently the chairman and chief executive officer of The Dun & Bradstreet Corp.

At rival Fannie Mae, Diane C. Nordin was elected to the board of directors in November. Nordin, 55, most recently was a fellow at the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University and previously worked at Wellington Management Company LLP.

A month earlier, Dr. Amy E. Alving was elected to Fannie’s board. Alving, 50, previously served as the chief technology officer and a senior vice president at Science Applications International Corp.

The new president of retail lending at Stonegate Mortgage Corp. is Jeff Walton. The Indianapolis-based lender said in a recent announcement that Walton’s most recent job was president of National Residential Mortgage. He also previously worked at Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage.

Stonegate also added Mike McElroy as its general counsel. McElroy has previously worked for Home Loan Servicing Solutions Ltd and Ocwen Financial Corp.

Christopher M. Simms and Stephen R. Greiff have been named co-presidents of Pulaski Bank’s mortgage division, which funded $1.3 billion last year. The pair replace Brian Boyles, who resigned in October and has since joined New American Funding as regional vice president-midwest division.

Simms, 37, was promoted from his job as senior vice president of capital markets, while Greiff, 40, was promoted from the position of senior vice president of mortgage operations.

The new group president for mortgage banking at SCBT is Thomas S. Ledbetter, a recent notice said. Ledbetter originally joined the Columbia, S.C.-based firm in 2002.

loanDepot.com LLC said Monday that it has appointed Bryan Sullivan to the role of executive vice president, chief investment officer. Sullivan last worked as a portfolio manager at Pacific Investment Management Co., and Goldman Sachs is also among his prior employers.

In Dallas, Aaron Luburich was named senior vice president for business development at Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a news release last month said. His 14 years in the business included time at Accenture, MetLife Bank and Saxon Mortgage.

Wingspan, a Mortgage Daily advertiser, reported in November that Susan Pettem was appointed to the newly created position of executive vice president for business development. Pettem has more than three decades in the business, most recently at First American Mortgage Services.

The new vice president of business development at NFM Inc. is Gregory Sher, an announcement Wednesday said. Sher started as a loan originator at NFM in 1999 and opened his own company in 2003. His company joined forces with NFM in 2009. He’ll recruit branches in his new job.

As vice president of business development at Freedom Mortgage Corp., Donald Hard is responsible for building out the retail sales division for New England and Florida. Hard previously worked for PHH Mortgage.

Another PHH alumnus, Lee Ann Dalessandro, was appointed by Hard as Freedom’s vice president and northeast regional sales leader. Dalessandro has 32 years’ experience.

In November, Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Freedom said Steve J. Greenberg was appointed director of retail and business development. Greenberg has spent more than two decades in the business, most recently at Sun Home Loans.

Freedom recently said that Carl Streicher was hired as senior vice president and western division leader. Streicher’s prior employer was Bank of America-Countrywide. In total, he has 15 years in the business.

Paul Buege has joined Inlanta Mortgage Inc. as senior vice president, business development and strategic partnerships. Buege’s prior job was at Shelter Mortgage.

Richard S. Donine recently joined First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. as senior vice president, national marketing director. Donine previously worked for Stearns Lending Inc., Opteum Financial Services and Impac Funding Corp.

Doug Harris was hired by First Guaranty as senior vice president, risk management. His prior employers include U.S. Bank and, most recently, Residential Finance Corp.

Another recent appointment at Tysons Corner, Va.-based First Guaranty was Ken Jones, who was recruited as senior vice president, mortgage banking and warehouse lending. Jones’ quarter-century in consumer finance included time at BofA.

Michael Massella was hired by Envoy Mortgage as executive vice president of retail lending. He was recruited from Caliber Funding and previously worked for Aegis Mortgage Corp.

The new director of operations at GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc. is Bobby Tsioutas, a recent announcement indicated. His 11 years in the industry included a job at Capital One Financial. Most recently he worked at Bethpage Federal Credit Union.

GFI also added Jordy Castillo as national sales director. Castillo’s decade in the business included positions at EverBank and Capital One Bank.

In Patchogue, N.Y., Barbara Kapps, CPA, was hired by MCS Mortgage Bankers Inc. as chief financial officer. Kapps has 30 years of public accounting experience.

Both Brian Gillespie and Greg Nolte have been named vice presidents of the newly launched third-party originator production channel at Equity Loans LLC. A statement last month said that Gillespie’s 22 years in the business included time at Freedom Mortgage, and Nolte’s 15 years included stints at Ownit Mortgage Solutions and First Franklin Financial.

360 Mortgage Group LLC recently announced the appointment of Joseph Kowalewski to regional manager for the East. The 30-year mortgage veteran most recently worked at NYCB Mortgage LLC and also spent time at CitiMortgage Inc.

Walpole, Mass.-based Mortgage Master recruited Michael Cannatti as its Texas regional manager, a news release last week said. The 37-year mortgage veteran will be recruiting loan originators for a new retail production branch.