Mortgage firms are cultivating new executives at a healthy rate, and the new appointments are in full bloom. Aside from a few high-level departures, a bouquet of newly recruited and promoted leaders are positioned to move the industry forward.
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. will lose Robert Appel, executive vice president of default servicing since 2008, on March 31, according to a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing included no reason for Appel’s resignation.
Shortly after news of Appel’s departure took root, reports surfaced that Fred Bolstad, managing director of retail lending for CitiMortgage Inc., left that firm for an unspecified position with Nationstar. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, CitiMortgage reportedly confirmed Bolstad’s departure but provided no further details.
Freddie Mac welcomed Steven Kohlhagen to its board of directors on Feb. 11. With over 30 years experience in the financial and investment industries, Kohlhagen will provide assistance on the business and risk and the compensation committees.
Also in February, Generation Mortgage unearthed chief risk and strategy officer Colin Cushman as its next chief executive officer and president. Cushman joined Generation in July 2012 and previously worked as the director of portfolio analysis for the Federal Housing Authority.
“Colin Cushman is highly respected as a credible subject matter expert within the reverse mortgage industry,” Generation chief sales officer Cheryl McNally said in the announcement. “His reputation with HUD, the regulators and the investment community will not only add tremendous value to Generation but to the industry at large.”
Cushman’s promotion came on the heels of Jeff Lewis’ January resignation reported by Reverse Mortgage Daily.
On Jan. 28, Mortgage Solutions Financial identified Alan Kalell as CEO. Kalell served as the company’s president since 2011. A 17-year leadership veteran, Kalell has aided with developing new lending divisions, new market entries, and growth acceleration guidelines.
Mortgage Solutions also selected Noah Hogan as its chief financial officer. The March 8 press release mentioned the certified public accountant’s eight-year background heading up operations and finance. Previously, Hogan was a business manager and financial controller at Macquarie Bank Ltd.
Effective Mar.7, Joe Anderson captured the CEO and chairman slots at Vericrest Financial Inc. A former Countrywide Home Loans employee, Anderson will oversee Vericrest’s integration with Caliber Funding LLC. Once the company combo is complete, Anderson will maintain his authority over the new conglomeration.
Mortgage lender Residential Finance Corp. expanded David Stein’s role by naming him company president of the retail branch division. RFC’s Feb. 19 employment notice revealed Stein would still serve as general counsel. Also a company founder, Stein will spearhead RFC’s growth efforts to keep growing its branch-level presence.
That same month, Sonya Gray joined RFC as the director of organizational development, and on Jan. 30, Brenda Jarvis emerged as the assistant vice president of business development.
Also in January, GSF Mortgage revealed Chad Jampedro was promoted to president. Jampedro originally hired on with GSF in 2001 as a loan originator
“Chad capitalizes on the opportunities presented to him and pushes our company forward in times of abundance and scarcity,” GSF owner Jim Guzanick said. “He has faced the worst financial crisis of the generation and has brought the company through it stronger than before.”
LoanDepot.com LLC listed its recent sprinkling of executive new hires in a Feb. 12 press release. Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President H. Lynn Ryan came to loanDepot from CIT Group Inc., where she was CIO and senior vice president. Candis Duke, former chief risk officer for Prospect Mortgage Co., joined loanDepot as chief operating officer. Jeff Walsh, executive vice president, was tasked with overseeing various departments to help facilitate company growth while Jeff DerGurahian, another loanDepot executive vice president, was put in charge of capital markets.
Likewise, Affiliated Mortgage Co. welcomed four top-level appointees in January. Former affiliate senior vice president and national sales manager Jason Beene was promoted to president of the company’s correspondent lending division. Previous JPMorgan Chase senior executive Kevin C. Payne accepted Affiliated’s COO role. Meredith Dorris was declared vice chairman but retained her capital markets manager duties. Meanwhile, Boris Firquain was promoted to senior vice president of national sales.
Also in January, NFM Inc. said Robert Tyson III, former executive vice president of lending, was promoted to chief operations officer. The next month, NFM announced former COO Jan Ozga’s promotion to president.
Guardian Mortgage Co. hired Rolanda Legg as chief compliance officer, effective April 1. Legg previously ran her own company, Mortgage Services Suites, and provided consulting services to mortgage and banking firms. Legg will carry out her CCO duties from Guardian’s Plano, Texas, office.
Retired Navy Adm. Michael Mullen accepted board member positions with Chrysalis Holdings LLC and NewDay USA, which concentrates on home financing for current and past members of the military.
Irvine, Calif.-based Impac Mortgage received two new executives, according to a Jan. 8 company announcement. Both Mike Casey, vice president-Western regional sales manager, and Matthew Dismore, vice president-central regional sales, will work within Impac’s correspondent lending division.
GMH Mortgage Services LLC rounded out its leadership team with several key hires. Penny Smith was named vice president of processing on Feb. 28. In March, GMH secured Frank DiMaio as senior vice president of national retail sales. As well, Janine Ranski signed on as regional sales manager and assistant vice president for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York markets ,while John Minigiello became regional sales manager and assistant vice president for the New England markets.
Meanwhile, ICON Residential Lenders LLC recruited Dennis Kuncas, the former vice president of mortgage lending operations at Kinecta Federal Credit Union, as senior vice president of its mortgage operations, according to data on LinkedIn. Additionally, ICON recruited Matt Modugno as area sales manager in the Southern California area.
Direct lender Potomac Mortgage Group Inc. recruited Sarah Pichardo as a new vice president, according to a Jan. 14 company press release.
On Feb. 11, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based New Penn Financial LLC welcomed the new vice president of correspondent lending Lisa Schreiber to the team.
Likewise, Stonegate Mortgage Corp. beamed, on March 5, that Robert Meachum was hired as executive vice president of servicing.
Effective Jan. 19, Dallas, Texas-based Caliber Funding LLC received Tammy Richards as senior vice president of operations.
Mortgage Master cultivated three new managers between February and March. Midwest regional manager Brian Jensen and Chicago branch area manager Craig Achtzen were Mortgage Master’s February additions while the March new-hire distinction belonged to Karen Menza, regional operations manager in charge of midwest operations.
March also saw the Advantage Group’s affiliates grow their leadership ranks. Advantage Title Agency Inc. promoted Michael Licitra to executive vice president and Denise Angiulo to vice president of business development. Advantage Title hired senior vice president Stephen Albright, and mortgage broker Mortgage Advantage added newcomer Cynthia Synan as director of business development .
Rounding out this report of blossoming company leaders is First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. The McLean, Va.-based company promoted Jeffrey Gibson to managing director of third party origination flow, according to a March 30 press release.
