After spending nearly three decades with Ocwen Financial Corp., the mortgage firm’s president and chief executive officer is leaving the company.
Ron Faris
joined the West Palm Beach, Florida-based mortgage-banking firm in 2001 as its president. He was named CEO in October 2010.
Faris led Ocwen
as it grew its mortgage servicing portfolio from less than $100 million in 2010 to $465 billion by the end of 2013 — making it the fourth-largest U.S. servicer that year.
He also was in charge as the company was hit with a barrage of lawsuits and regulatory actions.
On Thursday, Ocwen announced that Faris will retire on June 30.
“We thank Ron for his leadership and for all of his contributions over the years,” Ocwen Chair Phyllis Caldwell said in the statement. “As president and CEO, Ron guided Ocwen through a period of significant change, both in the mortgage industry and at our company. Ron redesigned the way we conduct business and, because of Ron’s leadership, we are strategically positioned to move forward into the future through our pending merger with PHH.”
Glen Messina, the former president and CEO of PHH Corp. — which Ocwen is in the process of acquiring — has been named as Faris’ replacement. He left PHH in June 2017.
Messina’s appointment will happen concurrently with the closing of PHH’s acquisition.
In addition, Messina will become a director on Ocwen’s board.
“Glen is one of the recognized leaders in the mortgage industry and his disciplined approach to top and bottom line results in his previous roles is widely respected,” Caldwell said. “He also has a successful record of bringing together strong teams to strategically build stability and structure across an enterprise.”
Before joining PHH in 2011, Messina worked for General Electric Co. for 17 years.
Messina noted in today’s statement that the acquisition of PHH will
“will create a stronger, more efficient mortgage servicer, positioned for a return to growth.”
