LoanDepot, CrossCountry, First American add to their C-suites

July 21, 2023 4:00 AM

CrossCountry adds Freddie Mac alum Jayma Banks, promotes Glen Lemeshev

Left to right: Jayma Banks, Glen Lebeshev

Cleveland-based retail lender CrossCountry Mortgage welcomed Jayma Banks to the company as its senior vice president of housing initiatives. In the newly created position, Banks will focus on affordable housing options, including down payment assistance programs. She joins CrossCountry from Freddie Mac, where she served in several roles, including most recently as its single-family sales and relationship manager.

The lender also elevated Glen Lemeshev to its executive team, naming him chief revenue officer. Previously a senior vice president and branch manager on CrossCountry's production team, Lemeshev led a team of 40. In his new leadership role, Lemeshev will be responsible for the lender's financial planning, product development and partnerships.

"Over the past several years, Glen has been instrumental in providing the voice of the field, which has led to many improvements in operations and support for the branches. We also created Jayma's position because we identified a need in underserved communities," said CrossCountry Founder and CEO Ron Leonhardt.

LoanDepot promotes Darren Graeler to chief accounting officer

National lender and servicer loanDepot recently elevated Darren Graeler to chief accounting officer. A member of the team at the Foothill Ranch, California-based company since 2018, Graeler recently held the position of senior vice president, corporate accounting. In his new role, Graeler will be responsible for managing the company's financial and accounting operations, SEC financial reporting and tax oversight. Before joining loanDepot, Graeler was a founding partner at consulting firm Financial Services Advisory Partners and started his career at the accounting firm KPMG, where he specialized in audits of mortgage lenders, banks and other finance companies.

First American names Jody Mulkey chief technology officer

First American, the title and closing solutions provider based in Santa Ana, California, welcomed Jody Mulkey as its chief technology officer, a newly created position within the organization. In his new role, Mulkey will lead First American's corporate product development team, with an eye on the development and enhancements of enterprise platforms and services.

Mulkey comes to First American after holding other senior-level technology leadership positions across different industries. Most recently, he held the chief technology officer role at GoodRx, helping launch new products for the telemedicine company, and earlier in his career served in the same position at Ticketmaster.

Lender Price adds ex-UWM, Flagstar leader Paul Orlando

Pasadena, California-based Lender Price, a provider of product and pricing engines as well as other digital tools used in mortgage operations, recently appointed Paul Orlando chief strategy officer. Orlando will help lead several technology initiatives related to corporate strategy, product development and enhancements to existing tools at Lender Price.

With expertise across different sectors in financial services, Orlando has served in leadership at several companies, including holding the role of chief information officer at digital home lenders, such as United Wholesale Mortgage, Home Point and Flagstar Bank.

Cenlar appoints Mr. Cooper alum Allison Batts as vice president

Photo by Eric Michael Clarke

Mortgage loan subservicer Cenlar recently added Mr. Cooper alum Allison Batts as vice president of executive client management. In the role, she will work with internal teams to improve delivery of services and troubleshoot potential and existing problems to better serve the Ewing, New Jersey-based company's clients.

Batts joins Cenlar from Mr. Cooper, where she held several roles, including most recently, managing vice president of client delivery. She previously served as an executive with HSBC Finance, North America.

Anchor taps Jim Fraser as chief operating officer

Real estate investment lender Anchor Loans named commercial and mortgage finance veteran Jim Fraser chief operating officer. Fraser most recently served as senior vice president for commercial real estate solutions at Built Technologies, a construction-finance software provider, and previously served in executive leadership in mortgage finance at the likes of Axos Bank, Banc of California and IndyBank. In his new role at Anchor, Fraser will manage the customer experience and day-to-day operations. He also will be in charge of growing Anchor's homebuilder and build-to-rent finance programs. In 2022, the company funded over $2 billion in originations.

NFM Lending adds Laura Clapper to C-suite

NFM Lending, based in Linthicum, Maryland, and licensed in 49 states recently promoted Laura Clapper from vice president of digital strategy to chief marketing officer. In her most recent role, Clapper elevated NFM's profile through social media and search engine marketing strategies and played a key role in developing the company's influencer division by taking advantage of video-messaging capabilities. As chief marketing officer, Clapper will continue to lead campaigns with a focus on sales growth.

Summit Mortgage targets growth with former Movement leaders

Left to right: Deran Pennington, Matt Schoolfield, Chris Shelton

National retail lender and servicer Summit Funding welcomed Deran Pennington, Chris Shelton and Matt Schoolfield as divisional leaders, a move in its attempt to expand its nationwide network. Former managers and directors at Movement Mortgage, the three industry veterans will be responsible for driving growth in the Southeast through recruitment and development of home lending teams.

A member of Movement Mortgage's original founding team, Pennington served as the company's national sales director during his tenure. In his position as a divisional leader with Movement Mortgage, Shelton specialized in coaching and training loan originators. Schoolfield, meanwhile, served as Southeast regional director at the company before rising to divisional leader prior to joining Summit Funding. Sacramento, California-based Summit is currently licensed in 48 states and operates more than 55 branches.

New American Funding welcomes Andy Pettola, Pat Bolan

Left to right: Pat Bolan, Andy Pettola

National lender and servicer New American Funding welcomed the addition of mortgage veteran Andy Pettola, who joins the company as executive vice president, national sales. With prior experience leading wholesale, retail and correspondent channels, Pettola will aim to increase sales and scale operations in key markets for the Tustin, California-based lender, which began operations in 2003.

Pettola's hiring is New American's latest move as it attempts to grow its nationwide network. Earlier this year, the company also added Pat Bolan as chief production officer to lead retail sales. Before coming to New American, Bolan held divisional leadership roles at several lenders, including Guaranteed Rate and Capital One. New American also promoted Patty Arvielo to CEO and former chief operating officer Christy Bunce to president in the first quarter this year.

USA Mortgage elevates Linda Pring, Ron Mueller and Dani Ploch

Left to right: Dani Ploch, Ron Mueller, Linda Pring, Doug Schukar

USA Mortgage, the employee-owned home lender based in St. Louis, recently announced leadership promotions of Linda Pring, Ron Mueller and Dani Ploch. Pring takes over as CEO from Doug Schukar, who founded USA Mortgage in 2001. Pring most recently served as both president and chief operating officer and originally joined the company the year it was established. Schukar will retain his position as chairman of the board.

Taking over Pring's former responsibilities as president is Ron Mueller. Also a member of the USA Mortgage team since 2001, Mueller began his tenure with the lender as a loan officer, before being elevated to branch manager and later, senior and executive vice president positions. Ploch takes over as the company's chief operating officer. She most recently served as USA Mortgage's chief administrative officer and also has spent over two decades with the company.

Hometap welcomes Cara Newman, Josh Gaffney to leadership team

Left to right: Josh Gaffney, Cara Newman

Boston-based Hometap, the fintech platform helping homeowners access accrued equity, welcomed Cara Newman and Josh Gaffney to its executive team. Newman steps into the new role of head of structured finance, responsible for development and execution of the company's asset capital strategy. She will be charged with finding best markets for Hometap investments and lead her team's strategy and approach across segments. Newman will also work on industry outreach to build awareness of home equity investments as an asset class through her capacity as vice chair of the Structured Finance Association's Women in Securitization working group, as well as other channels. Before joining Hometap, Newman spent several years at Redwood Trust and started her career as an attorney in Mayer Brown's structured finance practice.

Gaffney takes over the role of general counsel and will guide legal efforts at Hometap, including advising the executive team on strategy. He comes to the company from consumer-fintech Banyan, where he held the titles of general counsel and chief privacy officer. He also is a former managing counsel for American Express' global consumer services group.

Blackfin adds technology expert Christopher Call as consultant

Photo by John J Coyle Jr, Coyle Studios

Management advisory firm, BlackFin Group appointed Christopher Call principal consultant in charge of its professional services team. In his new position, Call will lead a team responsible for assisting clients with new tech systems, quality assurance testing, software integration and system administration among other guidance, to ease their day-to-day operations. Call previously performed similar work in roles at the likes of Mortgage Cadence, Source Point Mortgage Solutions and Argent Mortgage.

Wolters Kluwer appoints Vikram Savkar to lead compliance solutions

Wolters Kluwer, the global information services and software provider, recently named Vikram Savkar executive vice president and general manager in its compliance solutions business, which serves U.S. banks, credit unions, insurers and securities firms. Based in the firm's Waltham, Massachusetts, office, Savkar will lead a team assisting financial institutions in their management of risk and regulatory compliance obligations, including in home lending. The business unit falls under Wolter Kluwers' financial and corporate compliance division.

Savkar takes over the role after holding leadership positions elsewhere at Wolters Kluwer and also becomes a member of the enterprise's executive leadership team. He previously served as general manager of the legal and regulatory division and more recently, led a unit in its health division.

Maxwell appoints Paul Wetzel to senior VP of product

Denver-based fintech Maxwell welcomed Paul Wetzel as senior vice president of product. A former leader at Accenture subsidiary Mortgage Cadence, where he led product, Wetzel comes to Maxwell after recent technology executive positions at Code4Pro and CloudVirga. At Maxwell, he will be in charge of incorporating capabilities, such as fulfillment and capital markets trading, into the software provider's existing product suite, tapping into his knowledge of digital platforms, mortgage market strategy and enterprise growth. He will also focus on developing relationships with Maxwell partners to better facilitate the integration of tools and services into user tech stacks. Maxwell's tools have been utilized to produce over $260 billion in loan volume since the company's founding in 2015, its leaders said.

Guzzo & Co. adds James Evan Lowen to lead U.S. mortgage operations

Nonbank mortgage lender Guzzo & Co., which offers originations through businesses in both the U.S. and Mexico, recently named James Evan Lowen chief operations officer. The appointment makes Lowen among the first openly transgender mortgage executives in the industry, according to the company's founder and CEO Mauro Guzzo. In his new role, Lowen will tap into his home lending background to streamline U.S. mortgage operations. The company's U.S. unit is currently licensed in seven states.

Dovenmuehle names Patricia McCarthy insurance vice president

Mortgage subservicer Dovenmuehle hired Patricia McCarthy as vice president of insurance administration. In her new position, she will be in charge of hazard and flood insurance administration, loss drafts, research and the departmental call center, all belonging within her division.

With experience across the spectrum of home finance, McCarthy joins the Lake Zurich, Illinois-based company after helping lead mortgage warehouse lending at Hinsdale Bank, managing two divisions. She has also previously led compliance, mortgage operations, loan processing and customer service departments in her career.