Better taps mortgage veteran as president, COO

Better Home & Finance, still navigating its first year as a public company, appointed a longtime mortgage veteran to lead its operations.

Chad Smith was named president and chief operating officer May 8, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission notice. Executive Kevin Ryan, the firm's former president, will continue in his other role as chief financial officer.

The digital lender didn't provide a statement on Smith's hiring ahead of its first quarter earnings report scheduled to be released Tuesday morning. 

The new company leader recently served as CEO of California-based Mission Loans between 2020 and 2024, and prior to that led consumer direct and portfolio retention at Caliber Home Loans from 2018 to 2020. Better will pay Smith an annual base salary of $1 million with a minimum annual performance bonus of $500,000 after his first year with the firm, according to the SEC disclosure.

Smith will also receive 4 million restricted stock units, which will vest quarterly installments over the next four years, and a 4 million RSU time and performance package with similar vesting terms. 

The COO's 25-year career includes leadership positions at Loandepot, Discover Home Loans and LendingTree, according to his LinkedIn. Smith in his profile claims a track record of turning around underperforming call center sales and operations teams. 

Better is attempting to grow its operations following years of high-profile job cuts, and last month announced a home equity product and a loan originator hiring push. The publicly traded company has also pledged to undertake a reverse stock split this spring to address its share price, which has hovered under $0.50 in the past month, drawing a delisting notice from Nasdaq. 

The digital lender last month also notched a significant court victory when its former second-in-command Sarah Pierce voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit accusing Better of misleading investors. The filing did not indicate whether a settlement was reached but the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the claims cannot be refiled.

A federal judge last October rejected some of Pierce's claims, while in a separate case granted Better a judgment to recoup a $2.2 million loan from the former head of sales.