Newrez, Xactus, CoreVest make leadership moves

April 29, 2022 1:51 PM

Newrez names Neenu Kainth chief digital officer

Newrez, a subsidiary of New Residential Investment Corp., announced the appointment of Neenu Kainth as chief digital officer. In the role, Kainth will drive digital uptake in order to optimize cost structure for loan servicing and increase retention in origination channels.

Kainth most recently served as chief digital officer at Mr. Cooper, where she headed technology efforts across its businesses and managed omnichannel platforms and process optimization. Kainth has also held senior positions with Verizon and Comcast, overseeing growth of digital products, product management and technology development. Kainth’s appointment comes after New Residential completed its acquisition of Caliber Home Loans last year, merging it with Newrez and naming new leadership at the combined company.

Xactus welcomes Kevin Ryan as CFO

Verification services provider Xactus announced the appointment of Kevin Ryan as chief financial officer. Before joining Xactus, which recently underwent a branding and name change, Ryan served as CEO at unclaimed-property service provider Keane, where he developed reporting technologies prior to the company's sale last year. Ryan is also the former chief financial officer at Keane, and previously, worked at both Deloitte and KPMG.

“Kevin will be creating data and analytical reporting tools that will both benefit our company, and also satisfy growing market demands and help our customers enhance profitability and close more loans more quickly,” said Shelley Leonard, Xactus president. Ryan will also be in charge of streamlining the Philadephia-based company’s finance and accounting operations, tapping into his corporate planning and strategy background.

Gateless promotes Bryan Jackson to chief technology officer

Gateless, the digital platform providing artificial-intelligence tools to mortgage businesses, appointed Bryan Jackson to chief technology officer. In the role, Jackson will spearhead further development of Gateless’ AI services to drive speed and efficiency in the loan process. Jackson’s promotion comes after the Chicago-based company founded by Guaranteed Rate CEO Victor Ciardelli named mortgage-industry veteran Joe Langner president in early April.

A member of the Gateless team since its launch, Jackson most recently served as head of product delivery, a position he held since 2019. In his former role, he was responsible for developing Gateless’ technology infrastructure and leading its engineering and data science staff. Before joining Gateless, Jackson held lead architect positions at loanDepot and Newgistics and also led engineering initiatives at Veritone One.

CoreVest adds three to corporate executive team

Left tor right: Micaela Lumpkin, Brad Chmura, Michael Peerson

Investment real estate lender CoreVest, a subsidiary of Redwood Trust, welcomed three new leaders to its corporate executive team, promoting Brad Chmura and Micaela Lumpkin to chief operating officer and chief credit officer, respectively. The company also hired Michael Peerson as chief investment officer. CoreVest has closed more than $15 billion in loans and financed over 100,000 units.

Since joining CoreVest in 2017, Chmura had held the role of head of production and led a team that originated more than $2.3 billion last year. As COO, he will oversee CoreVest’s business operations, tapping into his experience in mortgage originations and data analytics. Former head of term lending, Lumpkin will manage CoreVest’s credit practices, loan policies and procedures. She steps into her new position after taking a leading role in the development of the New York-based firm’s long-term rental program. Before joining the company in 2016, Lumpkin was a practicing real estate and finance attorney. New to CoreVest, Peerson brings expertise in single-family-rental trading and will lead capital markets initiatives, while focusing on new product development and expanded distribution.

LenderClose taps Wells Fargo alum Jill Skinner to head marketing

Lending technology fintech LenderClose, whose platform serves community banks and credit unions nationwide, named former Wells Fargo executive Jill Skinner chief marketing officer. Skinner will lead the Des Moines, Iowa-based company’s marketing campaigns and strategy and work with other LenderClose leaders to drive company growth. The company received $10 million in Series B funding last year.

Skinner most recently served as senior vice president of marketing at Wells Fargo, where she helped develop strategy for the bank’s digital customer growth in consumer deposits. Earlier in her career, Skinner worked in marketing within the home lending unit at the banking giant, as well as at eCommerce businesses OfficeMax and Dotdash Meredith.

Lower names Gautam Kumar chief financial officer

Mortgage banking fintech Lower appointed Gautam Kumar chief financial officer, a new role within the Columbus, Ohio-based firm. Kumar’s hiring comes after a Series A funding round last year. A former manager with McKinsey & Co., Kumar brings experience in scaling emerging companies after serving as CFO of two startups, Rocket Travel and OptionsHouse, before their acquisitions by larger enterprises. As Lower’s CFO, Kumar will oversee company strategy in finance, forecasting, growth objectives and accounting.

Epoch Financial promotes Katerina Dimitratos to COO

Katerina Dimitratos Epoch Financial Group

Philadelphia-based Epoch Financial Group, parent to mortgage businesses Epoch Lending, Epoch Insurance, Epoch Property Transfer and EpochTech, recently announced the appointment of Katerina Dimitratos as chief operating officer. She most recently served as the group’s chief strategy officer, a position she took over in early 2021. Dimitratos will lead Epoch Financial’s strategic efforts across all aspects of operations as COO, including marketing, finance and technology.

Before joining the company, Dimitratos held senior positions at several financial companies, including Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Bloomberg, S&P Global and TD Bank. She also is the founder and CEO of Meddy Health, a digital health platform designed to help patients share data with providers.

Panorama Mortgage launches new brand led by Ramaj Balley

Las Vegas-based Panorama Mortgage Group, parent company of Alterra Home Loans, Legacy Home Loans and other mortgage businesses, announced the establishment of its new brand, Prosperity Capital Mortgage, to be led by Ramaj Balley as president. A full-service lender, Prosperity Capital serves some of the largest markets in Texas and Nevada, as well as Sacramento, California. Prosperity Capital will leverage PMG’s platforms, including human resources, compliance and technology, as it embarks on further growth.

Before joining Prosperity Capital, Balley served as senior vice president at Hamilton Home Loans, and also held leadership roles at other emerging companies, helping them scale into large independent mortgage firms. Balley will be in charge of Prosperity Capital’s engagement efforts with local communities and its branches, as they open up homeownership opportunities around the country.

Open Mortgage names Andrea Easter chief compliance officer

Multichannel lender Open Mortgage appointed Andrea Easter as chief compliance officer, a new position at the Austin, Texas-based company. She will lead Open Mortgage’s compliance department, responsible for development and execution of policies involving regulations and agency requirements, while staying informed of legal regulations impacting the mortgage industry. She will also work with other divisions of Open Mortgage to ensure compliance procedures are adhered to across the company, as well as conduct risk assessments and investigations.

An expert in mortgage law and compliance, Easter most recently held the title of deputy chief compliance officer at Celebrity Home Loans. Before joining Celebrity, she held a senior position at North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks and also served in mortgage compliance roles at other lenders, including Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Daylight Discount Mortgage.

Nations Lending adds Cindy Baird as EVP, Jon Whittington as Hawaii manager

Left to right: Cindy Baird, Jon Whittington

Nations Lending, the mortgage lender and servicer based in Independence, Ohio, recently named Cindy Baird executive vice president of national operations, as the company continues to develop its branch and partner networks and internal divisions. In the position, Baird will be responsible for coming up with and executing processes as leader of the fulfillment team to streamline operations and improve borrower experience. Baird comes to Nations after serving as executive vice president of national operations at Homeowners Financial Group USA.

As part of its national strategy, the company also announced a move into Hawaii, naming local mortgage expert Jon Whittington regional manager to oversee expansion in the Aloha State. The company expects to establish its first Hawaii branch in Honolulu upon licensing approval. A resident of the state since the late 1980s, Whittington comes to Nations Lending after previously serving as president of Compass Home Loans, a joint venture between Stearns Lending and a Hawaiian real estate firm, which funded over $370 million in loans last year. Nations Lending is licensed in all 50 states and also retains 98% of its loan-servicing rights.

Doorway Home Loans taps James Hedvall to head capital markets team

Doorway Home Loans, the residential direct lender based in Santa Ana, California, welcomed James Hedvall as chief capital markets officer. In the role he will lead the company’s secondary market initiatives, tapping into his financial and banking experience background, after having held a range of positions in his career, including analyst, trader, secondary market manager and chief capital markets officer. Hedvall has helped manage secondary and capital market efforts at several wholesale, correspondent and retail mortgage lenders, including Mann Mortgage, Loan Source, Residential Pacific Mortgage, LoanCity and Provident Funding Associate. He has also worked for mortgage industry consultant Rob Chrisman, evaluating secondary market risk.

MMI adds Jake Belter, Gerald Dorman to enterprise sales team

Left to right: Jake Belter, Gerald Dorman

Market Mobility Intelligence, provider of data and business insight for real estate and mortgage communities, announced the addition of Jake Belter and Gerald Dorman as regional directors on its enterprise sales team. Both will be responsible for adding to MMI’s list of business clients and increasing brand awareness and adoption in mortgage sectors outside of lending, such as title and insurance. The Salt Lake City-based company currently counts 20 of the top 25 lenders as clients.

Belter joins MMI after most recently serving as associate vice president of strategic accounts at Arch MI and previously held sales roles at several financial institutions, including United Guaranty Corp. and Synovus. Dornan comes to MMI from Nomis Solutions, where he was regional vice president of sales and has also held similar positions with Informative Research and LoanLogics. Earlier in his career, he was an account executive at First National Bank of Arizona.

First Community Mortgage names Jeff Raich regional wholesale manager

Jeff Raich - First Community Mortgage.jpg

Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based First Community Mortgage tapped Jeff Raich as regional manager of its wholesale division, known as a Mortgage Boutique. Raich will be responsible for third-party-originator lending and base himself out of McKinney, Texas, with initial plans to fill account-executive positions in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Raich brings past experience of building teams and wholesale operations at several different firms in the mortgage industry in his career, including MGIC and Swift Mortgage.

Atlantic Home taps Shelley DeGrange to lead secondary marketing

Alpharetta, Georgia-based lender Atlantic Home Loans hired Shelley DeGrange as secondary marketing manager. With expertise in market operations, she will lead Atlantic Homes’ secondary, hedging and investor relations activities, including the launch of new products. DeGrange most recently held the title of director of secondary marketing at Congressional Bank, where she oversaw similar functions.

Midwest BankCentre adds Jorge Medina to serve Spanish speakers

St. Louis-based Midwest BankCentre hired Jorge Medina as senior mortgage loan officer. In the role, he will assist the local Hispanic market, promoting loan products to a growing community with Spanish as their first or only language, many of whom may have limited credit history. The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and Realtor.com found that 58% Hispanic homebuyers are trying to achieve homeownership for the first time. Medina’s appointment comes as other lenders nationwide, such as Guaranteed Rate, have also ramped up outreach efforts to serve the Spanish-speaking market.