Renzi out as Walter's CEO as it looks to exit bankruptcy

Anthony Renzi, the former Freddie Mac executive brought in to try and right the ship at Walter Investment Management Corp., will be leaving the company once a replacement is found.

Walter Investment continues to operate under bankruptcy protection, missing a second target date. On Jan. 31 it said it would not exit prior to Feb. 2.

However, the company is continuing to work towards satisfying the remaining conditions in its prepacked bankruptcy plan and should emerge from Chapter 11 protection "in the near term," it said in a Feb. 2 Securities and Exchange Commission filing accompanying the Renzi announcement.

When it does emerge, Fort Washington, Pa.-based Walter Investment will be renamed Ditech Holding Corp., the filing said. All previous common stock shares will be cancelled and the new shares have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Renzi, who is Walter's CEO and president and a director, was not included on the new nine-member post-bankruptcy board of directors announced on Jan. 17.

He will remain as CEO and president until a permanent or interim successor is named. The company will hire an executive search firm to evaluate internal and external candidates for the role.

"With the upcoming completion of our court-supervised financial restructuring efforts, we believe that this is the right time to transition leadership and prepare for Walter's next chapter," said Walter's Chairman George Awad in a press release. "We are focused on identifying a strong leader who shares our commitment to creating value by continuously enhancing the customer experience."

Awad will be a member of the post-bankruptcy board.

Renzi's hiring was announced in August 2016, as part of its second-quarter results, a period where it lost $232 million.

He came to Walter after serving as the chief operating officer, managing director and head of operations for Citi's North America Retail Bank, Commercial Bank and CitiMortgage. Before that he was executive vice president of the single-family business, operations and technology at Freddie Mac and the chief operating officer of GMAC Residential Capital and president of GMAC Mortgage.

Among his first moves was to fire Ditech Financial's president, David Schneider, hired the previous February, and realign the management structure.

But after layoffs and office closings, Walter's losses continued and the company attempted a restructuring plan outside of bankruptcy. It was unable to obtain support from its creditors and in its third-quarter results (a loss of $124.1 million), announced it secured debtor-in-possession financing and would file for bankruptcy at the end of November.