People on the move: Feb. 26

February 26, 2021 10:21 AM

United Wholesale Mortgage appoints Desmond Smith to new role of chief growth officer

Pontiac, Mich. lender United Wholesale Mortgage announced the creation of a new leadership role, chief growth officer, to be filled by former Fannie Mae executive Desmond Smith. Most recently serving as senior vice president and chief customer officer for single family business at the GSE, Smith will be tasked with growing UWM’s business in the new position. “UWM was one of my top customers at Fannie Mae, so I’m very familiar with how they operate and their leaders,” Smith said in the release. “I’ve always been impressed by their dedication and focus on the broker channel.”

PennyMac CEO David Spector to serve as chairmen of its mortgage REIT, financial services

The CEO of both PennyMac companies, David Spector (pictured), has added the chairman's title, filling the vacancies created by the death of founder Stanford Kurland. In addition, the board of directors at PennyMac Financial Services has named Jeffrey Perlowitz as the independent dead director, succeeding James Hunt, who had served in that role since that company's 2013 initial public offering. "I am honored that the board has entrusted me with this additional responsibility, and I am excited to continue leading this great company forward," Spector said in the PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust press release.

Homepoint creates chief diversity and inclusion officer role, appointing DeAndre Lipscomb

Lender and servicer Homepoint, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. announced the creation of a new executive leadership role. As the company’s first chief officer of diversity and inclusion, DeAndre Lipscomb will be tasked with developing initiatives that support the company’s corporate social responsibility goals.
Lipscomb most recently served as executive director of the Lake Trust Foundation and as community impact manager for Lake Trust Credit Union. Previous to that, he held executive leadership roles within the healthcare industry, fostering employee engagement, community outreach and enhanced diversity and inclusion strategies in the sector.
“I am impressed by the leadership team’s demonstrated commitment to embedding diversity and inclusion into the company culture,” Lipscomb said in the announcement. “I look forward to working with the team to strengthen communities through financial well-being brought by homeownership and education.”

Cherry Creek Mortgage appoints Katy Uhl as chief human resources officer

Cherry Creek Mortgage hired Katy Uhl, former senior vice president of human resources at fintech provider Covius, to head up the Denver, Colo.-based lender’s human resources operations. The COO of Cherry Creek, Rick Seehausen, previously worked with Uhl at LenderLive when he served as that company’s CEO. “I know from working with her at LenderLive that she will be a great addition and resource to our company,” Seehausen said in the announcement.

Sabal Capital Partners adds two CMBS managing directors as part of hiring spree

Owen Bouton, left, and Michael Cozza.<br/>

Commercial real estate-focused financial services firm Sabal Capital Partners has added 14 people to its agency and non-agency programs. Two new hires, Owen Bouton and Michael Cozza, will serve as managing directors of CMBS. Bouton (pictured left) comes to the Irvine, Calif.-based firm from CIBC, where he served as an executive director of loan production. Cozza (right) hails from CIBC as well, most recently in the role of executive director and senior loan originator for its world markets. “Providing a unique life of loan experience, Sabal’s CMBS offerings fill an important gap in the marketplace,” said Cozza. “The company is well positioned to expand its CMBS business in 2021.”

LendersOne Cooperative promotes Justin Demola to role of president

MICHAEL BENABIB

National alliance of independent mortgage bankers, LendersOne Cooperative announced the promotion of managing director, Justin Demola, to president on Feb. 18th. As a certified mortgage banker, Demola is also an instructor for the Mortgage Bankers Association’s CMB Final Prep Course, and sits on the MBA of New Jersey's board of directors. Founded in 2000, LendersOne is managed by a subsidiary of Altisource Portfolio Solutions.

LenderClose adds product manager, Kent McDonald and delivery lead, Ryan McDonnell to team

Ryan McDonnell, left, and Kent McDonald

Des Moines, Iowa-based lending platform LenderClose has brought two new members onboard. As the company’s product manager, Kent McDonald (pictured right) is tasked with ensuring that the software offerings “check viability and value boxes,” and perform risk assessment, the company said in a statement. McDonald comes to the company after 20 years of consultancy, with past experience including work with agribusiness company Corteva. Delivery lead Ryan McDonnell, who formerly served as a business analyst at consulting firm Keyot will manage software initiatives in the role of delivery lead at LenderClose.