MBA, Guild, Attom make leadership moves, promotions

December 29, 2023 12:51 PM

Guild welcomes Adam O’Daniel as chief marketing officer

National lender and servicer Guild Mortgage appointed former business journalist Adam O'Daniel as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. In the newly created role at the San Diego-based company, O'Daniel will be responsible for Guild's marketing and communications efforts aimed to increase name recognition and support national growth, following the home lender's 2023 expansion.

In addition to his background in media, O'Daniel previously served in leadership at other home lenders, most recently holding the role of senior vice president of marketing at Open Mortgage. He also worked in a similar capacity with Movement Mortgage.

MBA promotes Rachel Kelley to vice president of legislative affairs

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently elevated Rachel Kelley to vice president of legislative affairs. In her new role, Kelley will advocate on behalf of MBA to advance policy priorities, tapping into connections among Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before stepping into her new position, she served as the trade group's associate vice president of political affairs, a role she took over in 2021.

Previously, Kelley worked in fundraising for Republican groups and organizations and also managed political action committees and lobbying efforts for other trade groups and technology companies. Earlier in her career, Kelley handled political affairs for the National Association of Home Builders.

Attom names Ned Stringham chair, promotes Ana Flor, Kara Taylor

Left to right: Ned Stringham, Kara Taylor, Ana Flor

Real estate data and software provider Attom appointed technology investor and entrepreneur Ned Stringham chairman, expanding its board to six members with his addition. Current managing partner at investment firm 42 Ventures, which he launched in 2006, Stringham previously co-founded SBI Group, a digital marketing and consulting business.

The Irvine, California-based company also announced the promotion of two executive vice presidents, raising Ana Flor and Kara Taylor to chief officer positions. Flor takes the title of chief people officer, continuing her work in human resources to create a positive workplace at Attom. Taylor steps up to chief marketing officer, a role in which she will further develop strategies to align with Attom's sales and account management goals of driving revenue and increasing recognition of its brand and services.

National MI names William Leatherberry chief administrative officer

NMI Holdings, parent company of National Mortgage Insurance, promoted William Leatherberry to chief administrative officer, a newly created position within the company. Leatherberry will serve concurrently alongside his roles as executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel at the Emeryville, California-based enterprise.

Leatherberry will be responsible for leading all of the insurers' legal, compliance, government relations and corporate communications functions, while continuing to guide company strategy. He joined the firm in 2014 following a previous tenure in legal corporate leadership at Century Aluminum.

CV3 appoints Robert Callaway, Ken Jacobson to key finance positions

Left to right: Robert Callaway, Ken Jacobson

Los Angeles-based CV3 Financial Services, the recently established real-estate investment lender, welcomed Robert Callaway and Ken Jacobson to its leadership team. Joining as chief financial officer, Callaway will apply experience in forecasting, business intelligence and analysis to guide company planning and sound business practices. He joins CV3 after previously working in real estate financial leadership at the likes of April Housing, Invitation Homes, Wedgewood and Kilroy Realty.

Jacobson, who previously worked with CV3's leadership at Civic Financial Services, fills the role of senior vice president of capital markets. With background across the financial services industry, Jacobson has also served as a portfolio management and capital markets leader for companies such as Wedgewood. Both Callaway and Jacobson helped close CV3's warehouse facility with Atlas SP Partners and will lead the pursuit and growth of new and diversified relationships.

Logan Finance welcomes Dave Weatherford, Nick Pabarcus, Aaron Samples

Left to right: Aaron Samples, Nick Pabarcus, Dave Weatherford

Dallas-based Logan Finance, a national wholesale and non-delegated correspondent non-QM lender, tapped Dave Weatherford and Nick Pabarcus as new sales directors. Both will be responsible for driving expansion by building sales teams to serve Logan's broker and correspondent partners. Weatherford joins Logan after holding several senior sales leadership positions with the likes of Finance of America, Newrez and Loan Stream Mortgage, establishing relationships throughout bank and credit union communities. Wholesale and correspondent sales expert Pabarcus, who also serves as a director with the California Mortgage Bankers Association, comes to Logan after holding a similar leadership position with Loandepot, as well as prior roles at Stearns Lending and Bank of America.

Their appointments come after the company named mortgage veteran Aaron Samples chief revenue officer in fall 2023. Charged with managing Logan's growth and further expansion, Samples is a former CEO and president at First Guaranty Mortgage and held executive positions at Stearns Lending and Nationstar.

Stavvy welcomes Tim Anderson, Charlie Epperson to leadership

Left to right: Charlie Epperson, Tim Anderson

Boston-based mortgage fintech Stavvy recently added industry veterans Tim Anderson and Charlie Epperson to its executive team upon its acquisition of Signiadocuments, which previously was a division of Evolve Mortgage Services. The deal ups Stavvy's electronic closing capabilities, with the addition of technology, including eNotary tools and eNote and eVault solutions, and comes after an earlier 2023 acquisition of servicing tools provider Brace.

Technology advocate Anderson steps into the role of executive vice president of digital mortgage strategy, managing Stavvy's efforts to scale adoption and innovation of electronic tools throughout home lending. He previously served as president of Evolve's eMortgage division. Epperson takes on the position of chief product officer, tapping into his knowledge of the digital mortgage landscape and data rules and standards, to help drive growth. He held the position of chief technology officer at Evolve before joining Stavvy.

Kiavi appoints Samuel Harrity to drive capital markets strategy

San Francisco-based Kiavi, the lender serving small-business landlords and fix-and-flip borrowers, named Samuel Harrity senior vice president, capital markets. In his new leadership role, Harrity will manage Kiavi's securitization programs and lead loan sales efforts to institutional investors, maintaining relationships with relevant capital partners. Before coming to Kiavi, Harrity held a similar position at investor-property platform Mynd and served as an executive at Corevest Finance and Auction.com.

Floify adds Courtney Dodd as head of marketing

Mortgage point-of-sale software provider Floify recently announced the appointment of industry veteran Courtney Dodd as its new head of marketing, a role in which she will lead new initiatives and develop messaging and branding aimed to raise Floify's profile. The company recently launched a new platform created specifically for the broker community.

Dodd joins Floify, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, after recently serving as director of integrated marketing at lending technology firm SimpleNexus. Earlier in her career, Dodd held key product marketing roles at Ellie Mae and Calyx Software. She also worked as a regional marketing consultant at Primelending.

Planet Home welcomes construction loan expert Melony Harpe

Planet Home Lending VP Construction Sales Manager Melony Harpe

Hand-out/Planet Home Lending, LLC

Planet Home Lending, based in Meriden, Connecticut, named Melony Harpe vice president, construction sales manager. In her role, Harpe will work and train mortgage loan officers, assisting them in their efforts to increase originations for new-home constructions, including manufactured and modular homes and renovations. A construction-loan specialist, Harpe will also guide Planet Home's officers, as they seek to expand connections with homebuilder communities. She joins Planet Home after holding similar positions at other lenders, including Gateway Mortgage.

First Community welcomes capital markets veteran Jeff Pancer

Hand-out/First Community Mortgage

First Community Mortgage, the Nashville, Tennessee-based subsidiary of the bank of the same name, recently welcomed Jeff Pancer to the role of executive vice president, capital markets, a new leadership position. Pancer joins the firm, bringing several years of secondary market experience acquired at various lenders throughout his career. He also served as a member of Fannie Mae's secondary marketing advisory committee. Pancer will be charged with delivering new mortgage solutions to best align with First Community's corporate commitments.

Waterstone Mortgage promotes David Sparks to director role

Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based Waterstone Mortgage recently promoted David Sparks to director — affordable housing and loan servicing. In the role, he will research industry trends and build relationships with state agencies and bond authorities in order to provide new affordable homeownership programs to Waterstone clients. He will also continue to oversee existing bond and down payment programs as well as ensure the performance of Waterstone's loan servicing platform. Previously, Sparks held the role of bond manager for the mortgage subsidiary of Waterstone Bank.

Cornerstone adds product strategy leader Neil Merritt

Houston-based Cornerstone Home Lending tapped Neil Merritt as senior vice president of product strategy and development. In his new role, Merritt will build on his experience in leadership at various nonbank lenders, including Newrez, Georgetown Mortgage and Stearns Lending, having spearheaded the release of numerous loan products. In his role with Cornerstone, Merritt will find and introduce new mortgage offerings to benefit all stakeholders in the home lending process, from consumers to secondary markets.

Docmagic taps Chris Lewis to lead sales efforts

Emortgage technology and automated services provider Docmagic announced the promotion of Chris Lewis as director of sales. A member of the Torrance, California-based firm's team for several years, Lewis will lead a team of salespeople and consultants to assist lenders in adoption of electronic closing processes, as well as market Docmagic's document generation and compliance solutions.

CMG names Valerie Goebel area sales manager

Mortgage banking firm CMG Financial recently tapped Valerie Goebel as area sales manager for its retail home loan arm. She joins the San Ramon, California-based enterprise from Keybank, where she started as a loan officer before rising to branch manager and later, led business in the Northwest region. In her new position, Goebel will lead a CMG Home Loans team focused on growing originations in Idaho and Utah, drawing on her knowledge of the region, particularly the Boise market.

Mobility Market Intelligence elevates Brian McKray to vice president

Mobility Market Intelligence, the mortgage data software provider headquartered in Salt Lake City, recently promoted Brian McKray to the newly created position of vice president of product. In the role, McKray will continue to build and develop onboarding and support tools within MMI platforms after leading development of other features since joining the company. McKray has also guided initiatives to bring new products to market for MMI's clients. He first joined the company as director of product.