Rate, Radian, Regions make mortgage leadership moves

March 4, 2025 6:00 AM

Ingenius welcomes Sue Woodard as chief customer officer

Real estate and mortgage data provider Ingenius named lending industry consultant Sue Woodard as chief customer officer. The consultant and Digital Mortgage Demo competition judge will help Ingenius clients best make use of its data to inform decision-making in recruitment, partner acquisition and community reinvestment and fair lending goals. Woodard also serves as a senior advisor at mortgage consultancy firm Stratmor Group and will continue her work with the company alongside her new Ingenius role.

Tidalwave adds former ICE exec Chris McLendon to C-suite

Mortgage technology platform Tidalwave welcomed veteran industry leader Chris McLendon as chief revenue officer. In his new position, McLendon will guide revenue growth and help build sales teams to support expansion of the New York-based fintech, which last year rolled out an artificial-intelligence backed platform for origination and underwriting.

Before joining Tidalwave, McLendon spent a decade in management at ICE Mortgage Technology. Earlier in his career, he also held similar account management positions at Black Knight.

Radian taps Sumita Pandit as incoming president

Radian Group, the mortgage insurance and closing services provider based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, recently announced the appointment of Sumita Pandit as president, effective July 2025. Pandit will assume the position following the retirement of current president, Derek Brummer, who first joined a Radian predecessor company in 2002.

In her elevated role, Pandit will lead Radian's mortgage insurance operations, while serving concurrently as the company's chief financial officer, a role she presently holds. She arrived at the company in 2023, hired as its first chief growth officer, and subsequently ascended to the CFO role a few months later. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Fay Group adds Jason Biegel to head capital markets team

Mortgage and real estate services provider Fay Group appointed structured finance expert Jason Biegel president of its capital markets group. A specialist in the distressed residential lending segment, Biegel will lead strategy behind Fay's whole loan trading and mortgage servicing rights investments and help support growth of the company's capital markets.

Biegel comes to the Tampa, Florida-based firm after most recently serving as president at Change Lending, where he introduced structured finance initiatives. Earlier in his career, he gained experience working in distressed mortgages at the likes of Bear Stearns, Lone Star Funds and Arc Home.

Visio Lending appoints Jenny Coupland as CEO

Real estate investment lender Visio Financial Services appointed board member and hedge fund executive Jenny Coupland as CEO. As the new head of the Austin, Texas-based company, Coupland will oversee growth for the firm, which also operates a real estate investment trust, drawing on her experience in hedge fund investing, correspondent lending and mortgage trading.

Coupland joins Visio from Beach Point Capital Management and steps into the CEO role following the retirement of company co-founders, Jeff Ball and Matt Matza. Previously, she also worked as an attorney for Winston & Strawn and Morgan, Lewis & Bokius, assisting clients with structured finance transactions.

US Mortgage hires Lindsi Flynn as chief marketing officer

Melville, New York-based US Mortgage welcomed Lindsi Flynn as chief marketing officer. Flynn joins the national lender after most recently serving in marketing leadership at Assurance Financial. In her new position, she will draw on her background in direct-to-consumer marketing, financial technology and analysis to drive US Mortgage's brand growth across the country. Flynn will also collaborate with loan officers to achieve successful outcomes from their own marketing efforts.

Regions adds Drew Chuba to enhance customer digital experience

Photo by Jessica McKnight

Regions Bank, based in Birmingham, Alabama, announced the hiring of Drew Chuba as senior vice president and centralized sales and enablement manager in its home lending division. Chuba will oversee a team of Regions employees assisting mortgage clients seeking help online, including from their phones and tablets. The appointment serves Regions' effort to expand its digital capabilities that will lead to more personalized borrowing experiences.

A banking industry veteran, Chuba played a key role in building direct-to-consumer mortgage lending platforms at Citibank and Fifth Third Bank. He comes to Regions after serving in management at PNC Bank, where he headed its digital home lending center.

CMG Financial appoints Tom James to head JVs

Left to right: Tom James, Brady Thomas, Shawn Williams

San Ramon, California-based CMG Financial announced the appointment of sales and operations executive Tom James as senior vice president for its joint-venture channel. In the new job, James will manage growth of the JV platform, drawing on a background in joint-venture development from similar roles with Rate and Stearns Lending. James will be tasked with developing business partnerships and solutions aimed at driving revenue opportunities for all parties.

James' appointment comes as CMG continues building out its nationwide retail network in 2025. Earlier this year, CMG Home Loans welcomed two new area sales managers: Shawn Williams and Brady Thomas. The mortgage origination veterans will be tasked with driving sales in Maryland and Oakland, California, respectively.

Lima One welcomes mortgage leaders Dave Hughes, Patrick Journy

Fix-and-flip and residential transition loan provider Lima One Capital recently added Dave Hughes as its senior director of core servicing. Hughes will be in charge of strategy for a team responsible for performance of the company's multibillion dollar loan portfolio, with an eye on efficiencies and improved borrower outcomes. A veteran in the segment, Hughes previously spent over a decade at Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing, where he oversaw operations, portfolio management and compliance matters.

Hughes' appointment follows the late 2024 hiring of mortgage veteran Patrick Journy as chief financial officer at the Greenville, South Carolina-based lender. In the role, Journy will lead the company's accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis and capital markets groups. A home lending executive at multiple companies in his career, Journy joins Lima One after recently serving as chief accounting officer at Angel Oak Mortgage REIT.

Planet Home names GSE alum Jason Mac Gloan correspondent sales head

Planet Home Lending, the national lender and servicer based in Meriden, Connecticut, tapped Jason Mac Gloan to serve as senior vice president, correspondent sales. In his new position, Mac Gloan will oversee growth of the company's correspondent operations by advancing co-issue capabilities and helping partners find new opportunities through Planet Home's specialized products, including manufactured home and renovation loans.

Mac Gloan arrives at Planet Home after most recently holding the title of Eastern regional manager at Freedom Mortgage. He began his career at the government-sponsored enterprises, first at Freddie Mac, where he was behind its first eMortgage initiative. He later served in account management at Fannie Mae.

Logan Finance adds sales director Jeff Garrison

Top to bottom, left to right: Sarah Gonzalez, Aaron Samples, Nick Pabarcus, Jeff Garrison

Wholesale and non-delegated correspondent lender Logan Finance Corp. recently named Jeff Garrison sales director. A wholesale veteran, Garrison previously held senior leadership roles at Bank of America and Wells Fargo as well as nonbank New Leaf Lending. In the role, Garrison will be responsible for managing sales operations by expanding Logan's non-QM account team and developing wholesale client relationships.

Garrison's hiring comes after the Hauppage, New York-based lender promoted three of its leaders within its ranks of chief officers to begin 2025. Within the C-suite, Aaron Samples stepped up to the role of chief operating officer. Taking over as chief innovation officer was Sarah Gonzales, while Nick Pabarcus became chief revenue officer.

Class Valuation welcomes Jonathan Willen as chief revenue officer

Appraisal management company Class Valuation recently appointed Jonathan Willen as chief revenue officer. Willen most recently served in the same position at tax monitoring and flood determination firm Lereta, where he led sales, marketing and account management teams. He has also held senior leadership roles at various service providers throughout the home lending community, including First American Mortgage Solutions and Corelogic. As Class Valuation's new CRO, Willen will be tasked with driving growth and market share for the Troy, Michigan-based business.

Rate adds Chris Franquemont, Darrell Beaudoin to boost national growth

Left to right: Darrell Beaudoin, Chris Franquemont

Chicago-based national lender Rate welcomed the addition of two retail originations leaders to its national network as it seeks to expand its production team. In Denver, Chris Franquemont returns to Rate following a recent year-long run with Crosscountry Mortgage. Prior to his Crosscountry tenure, Franquemont led a team at Rate for five years. In 2024, Franquemont funded $38 million across 103 loans.

Rate also recently added leading Atlanta-area producer Darrell Beaudoin to serve customers in the area. Beaudoin comes to Rate after a recent tenure at Affinity Home Lending and works actively with the National Association of Real Estate Brokers to promote opportunities across communities.

Freedom Bank taps Anthony Denk to lead sales and production

Suburban Washington-based Freedom Bank of Virginia hired Anthony Denk as senior vice president and director of sales and production on its mortgage team. With a background in home lending at other Virginia institutions, Denk most recently held the title of chief mortgage officer at First Fidelity Funding Group and also served as a loan officer at Presidential Bank.

In the new leadership role, Denk will be responsible for expanding Freedom Bank's mortgage division through the development of products and customers meant to drive growth across all consumer lines of business. He will also seek to expand mortgage services for corporate banking customers and represent Freedom at industry trade conferences and in the Northern Virginia market.

Singlesource hires Daniel Figurski as chief appraiser

Singlesource, the property services provider for the housing industry, hired Daniel Figuski as chief appraiser. In the role, Figurski will be responsible for growing its valuation services business to build upon a client base that includes banks, mortgage lenders and servicers.

Figurski comes to the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based firm after holding similar management roles at the likes of Nationwide Appraisal Network and American Advisors Group. His background in appraisal also includes work in the commercial real estate sector.

Incenter adds new vice presidents Kathleen Rose, Wayne Brown

Left to right: Wayne.Brown, Kathleen Rose

Philadelphia-based Incenter Lender Services recently added Kathleen Rose and Wayne Brown as vice presidents for national accounts. Both will be responsible for scaling growth across Incenter's range of products and services. The firm serves financial institutions with mortgage lending and capital markets solutions throughout various stages of the loan process.

Brown joins Incenter after holding sales and capital markets leadership roles at Black Knight and Freddie Mac, working with banks and credit unions. Rose comes to the company after heading valuation sales at Homegenius and previously served in management at other mortgage solutions providers, such as Simplenexus and Radian.