Loandepot, Lower, Dark Matter, MBA add to leadership ranks

February 11, 2025 5:00 AM

MBA adds Matthew Gallant, promotes Jamie Woodwell, Megan Booth

Left to right: Matthew Gallant, Megan Booth, Jamie Woodwell

The Mortgage Bankers Association welcomed Matthew Gallant as its new director of member relations. A home finance veteran, he joins the Washington-based trade group after holding a similar role at New Hampshire Housing, where he was director of stakeholder engagement. He also previously served as a lending manager at the Bank of New Hampshire. In his new leadership position, Gallant will lead member engagement among residential lending businesses in the Northeastern U.S.

His appointment comes following the recent promotions of Jamie Woodwell and Megan Booth in MBA's commercial and multifamily division. Woodwell rises to the position of senior vice president of commercial/multifamily policy and strategic industry engagement, overseeing divisional efforts to advance favorable business objectives. A Fannie Mae alum, he joined MBA in 2004 and most recently headed its commercial real estate research efforts, responsible for analysis of various real estate finance markets.

Booth steps up to the role of vice president of commercial/multifamily policy. In her new position, she will help lead policy objectives relevant to commercial real estate finance, with a focus on regulation at state and federal levels. Before joining MBA, Booth served in policy leadership at the Manufactured Housing Institute and worked in various roles at the National Association of Realtors.

Dark Matter names Brad Vasto chief revenue officer

Mortgage software provider Dark Matter Technologies, based in Jacksonville, Florida, announced the appointment of Brad Vasto as chief revenue officer, effective April 2025. In the role, Vasto will work to build upon relationships with banks and other financial institutions to deliver tailored technology solutions, succeeding Sean Dugan on the latter's ascension to CEO.

A mortgage veteran with past experience at both nonbanks and depository lenders, Vasto previously held executive roles at Black Knight, leading sales and business development for servicing technologies. More recently, he served as senior vice president of sales at Assurity Technologies.

Lower names Redfin alum Adam Weiner as president

Columbus, Ohio-based national lender Lower has named real estate and technology executive Adam Weiner as its new president. In the role, Weiner will head the company's technology, marketing, data science and direct-to-consumer sales organizations, amplifying the Lower brand name, while also leading the development of its new operating system.

Weiner comes to Lower after 16 years at Redfin, where he held the title of president of real estate services. During his tenure there, he was responsible for marketing and growth initiatives and also founded and built Redfin's mortgage and title businesses. Early in his career, he also worked in program management at Microsoft.

Mortgage Collaborative welcomes Jodi Hall as president and CEO

Education and advocacy organization The Mortgage Collaborative welcomed lending and technology leader Jodi Hall as its new president and CEO. The founder of tech consultancy firm Dandaroad, Hall has been an active collaborator with TMC and will be in charge of leading its operations and introducing new initiatives, while continuing to expand its network. Earlier in her career, she served in leadership at Nationwide Mortgage Bankers and Crosscountry Mortgage, where she was instrumental in scaling operations.

Lereta taps Katie Brewer for CEO

Real estate tax and flood solutions provider Lereta announced the appointment of Katie Brewer to CEO. As Lereta's new chief executive, Brewer will oversee the next phase of growth for the Pomona, California-based company responsible for processing $17 billion in tax payments and monitoring more than 25 million loans for flood determinations.

Prior to joining Lereta, Brewer held president and chief operating officer roles at loan subservicer Selene Finance. Earlier in her career, she also served at the likes of Radian, Green River Capital and Ocwen. Brewer takes over the helm at Lereta following the retirement of John Walsh, who was instated as CEO in 2015.

Movement Mortgage elevates Aimee Dodson to C-suite

National retail lender Movement Mortgage announced the appointment of Aimee Dodson to the newly created position of chief engagement officer. In her new role, Dodson will head sales onboarding and training efforts, affiliate relations and internal programming aimed at developing a strong company culture.

One of the Fort Mill, South Carolina-based company's first employees after it was founded in 2008, Dodson formerly held key positions to support its finance, human resources, project management and community outreach initiatives.

Sage Home Loans welcomes marketing leader Bijoy John

Sage Home Loans, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, added Bijoy John as senior vice president of marketing. In his new role, John will be responsible for promoting innovations in order to simplify the lending experience for customers. John comes to Sage after most recently serving in leadership at Rate. Previously he also worked in key marketing roles at Newrez and Freedom Mortgage.

Xactus names Mike Brown chief product officer

Verification services provider Xactus promoted Mike Brown to the role of chief product officer. In his new position, Brown will be responsible for developing product strategy and new innovations to best implement efficient automated solutions, while keeping abreast of emerging industry trends.

Brown steps into the new leadership position after most recently holding the title of chief integration officer. He joined Xactus following its acquisition of CIS Credit Solutions, where he had served as CEO.

Waterstone Mortgage promotes Stephanie Ziebell, Traci Husslein

Left. to right: Traci Husslein, Stephanie Ziebell

National lender Waterstone Mortgage Corp. announced the promotion of Stephanie Ziebell to chief legal officer. A member of the Waterstone team since 2012, Ziebell most recently served as its general counsel, helping oversee a range of functions, including compliance, information security and vendor management for the mortgage subsidiary of Waterstone Bank. During her tenure she also helped expand Waterstone's lending capabilities across the country.

In January, the Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based company also elevated Traci Husslein to senior vice president — capital markets. She first joined Waterstone's capital markets division in 2014, helping guide its growth and leading various teams. She previously held similar capital markets operations roles working across various business lines within the home finance industry, including at Shelter Mortgage.

Panorama elevates Philip Riccio to chief financial officer

Las Vegas-based Panorama Mortgage Group promoted Philip Riccio to chief financial officer. An industry veteran with past tenures at Stearns Lending and Caliber Home Loans, Riccio most recently served as executive vice president of capital markets and third-party originations for Panorama, where he helped build a wholesale/correspondent channel.

In his new leadership role, Riccio will oversee strategic initiatives and financial reporting to ensure sustainable growth for the business, which is parent to several mortgage brands.

Loandepot names Bart Evans regional vice president

Irvine, California-based retail lender Loandepot appointed Bart Evans as regional vice president for the Southeast. In the leadership role, he will be responsible for managing local retail growth in a territory that includes Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. Evans comes to Loandepot after previously serving in sales leadership at the likes of Movement Mortgage and Summit Funding.

Evergreen welcomes John Porath in Southeast expansion

Regional lender Evergreen Home Loans extended its national network with the appointment of John Porath as Southeast regional manager. Porath will direct growth efforts in six Southeastern states for the Bellevue, Washington-based direct lender, which previously operated exclusively in the Western U.S., continuing to build and strengthen Evergreen's business partnerships in the new market. Porath brings with him senior leadership experience from a career that has included positions at JPMorgan Chase, Guaranteed Rate Affinity and GMAC Mortgage.

Southern Bancorp welcomes Miguel Vega to lead production

Community development financial institution Southern Bancorp tapped home lending leader Miguel Vega as director of mortgage production. In his new role, Vega will be in charge of mortgage sales management, growth initiatives and compliance efforts within the home finance division of the Little Rock, Arkansas-based bank.

With a professional background in affordable housing and outreach to underserved populations, Vega formerly held key roles at First Community Mortgage, including as chief diversity officer and executive vice president of business development. More recently, Vega served in leadership at the Tennessee-based fintech Nuestro, which works with Hispanic households to develop and meet financial goals.

National Housing Conference welcomes Britt Van to lead policy

The National Housing Conference tapped Britt Van as senior policy director. In the role, she will drive efforts to address challenges standing in the way of development for the Washington-based consortium of affordable housing organizations. An expert on government housing policy, Van previously served as a senior advisor to the president of Ginnie Mae and worked as a director with the New Democrat Coalition in the House of Representatives.

Planet Financial boosts retail lending, title, subservicing teams

Left. to right: Matt. Payan, Candice McNaught, Kirk Gerling, Ken Quantie

Meriden, Connecticut-based Planet Financial Group announced the addition of new leaders to drive growth of its lending and title subsidiaries. Stepping in as senior vice president at Keylink, Planet's title business, is Ken Quantie, who will be responsible for expanding the unit's residential and commercial products in order to have them available early this year. He comes to the company after holding the position of president at UTB Title. He held similar roles at Carrington Cos. and Solutionstar Settlement Services.

Within Planet Home Lending, the company welcomed Kirk Gerling as executive vice president of nonagency subservicing. A mortgage industry veteran, Gerling previously guided servicing efforts in similar roles at Carrington as well as Shellpoint prior to joining Planet Home, where he will be responsible for supporting its private clients.

In another boost for its distributed retail channel, Planet Home Lending also recently named Candice McNaught senior vice president, business development and strategic initiatives, a role in which she will tap into prior experience in recruiting and guiding sales teams and branches to drive revenue growth. She joins another new addition to the channel, Matt Payan, who comes onboard as senior vice president, distributed retail sales to help lead branch growth and other business initiatives. Before joining Planet Home, Payan held sales leadership positions at CMG Financial and Homebridge.