Career moves

Scott Kinnaird has been named chief executive officer of a la mode inc., an Oklahoma City-based developer of software and online services for the real estate and mortgage industries.Celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, a la mode said the company's growth spurred the move, along with the naming of Sean Shiplet to the newly created post of chief operating officer and the opening or expansion of several offices. Mr. Kinnaird was most recently a la mode's chief strategy officer. Company founder and former CEO David Biggers will retain the role of chairman and will focus on new product, market, and strategic project development, a la mode said. Mr. Shiplet was previously the company's executive vice president of sales and customer support. In addition, a la mode announced that a regional sales and training center was recently opened in Orlando, Fla., and that its Salt Lake City development office and its legal affairs office in Washington, D.C., have been expanded. The company can be found online at http://www.alamode.com.

Fannie Mae has announced the appointment of three executives to the posts they have held on an interim basis since December.The three executives are as follows: Thomas Lund, executive vice president of Fannie Mae's single-family mortgage business; Kenneth Bacon, executive vice president of housing and community development; and Richard Lawch, senior vice president of Fannie Mae's multifamily mortgage business. Daniel H. Mudd, president and chief executive officer of the government-sponsored enterprise, said Fannie is also proceeding with the selection process for a permanent chief financial officer, credit risk officer, and chief ethics officer and hopes to make those announcements "as quickly as possible." Fannie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Randy Lightbody has been appointed managing director of the wholesale division of RBC Mortgage Co., Houston.Mr. Lightbody will manage the company's wholesale sales and operations throughout the United States. He served most recently as national production manager and executive director of lending at Morgan Stanley, where he was on the team that launched the organization's residential conduit business in 2003, RBC said. Mr. Lightbody previously served as senior vice president and national sales manager of Bank One's wholesale and correspondent businesses. RBC said its wholesale division generated more than $6 billion in production volume in 2004 through more than 25,000 loans, accounting for 38% of the company's annual volume. RBC Mortgage, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, can be found online at http://www.rbcmortgage.com.

Saxon Capital Inc., Glen Allen, Va., has announced that Bradley D. Adams and Mark D. Rogers are no longer employed by Saxon, a residential mortgage lender that operates as a real estate investment trust.Mr. Adams, formerly the REIT's executive vice president for capital markets, "has separated from service" with Saxon, while Mr. Rogers, formerly senior vice president and corporate strategies director, has resigned, according to the REIT. Saxon did not disclose the reasons for the departure of the executives. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.saxoncapitalinc.com.

Citigroup president and chief operating officer Robert Willumstad, an 18-year veteran of the company -- and a one-time candidate for the top job at Fannie Mae -- is leaving the company.Mr. Willumstad, 59, is also leaving the Citigroup board, and he announced that he will "pursue opportunities" to lead a public company. From 2000 to 2003 he headed Citigroup's global consumer operations, which include consumer finance. Once considered a candidate to head Citigroup, Mr. Willumstad was passed over for the top job in 2003 by Sandy Weill, who chose Charles Prince to be chief executive officer. Mr. Willumstad was believed to be a finalist for the Fannie Mae CEO position, which went to interim CEO Daniel Mudd this spring.

Mark C. Walker has been promoted from vice president and chief financial officer of Capital Title Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., to executive vice president and chief operating officer of the title insurance company.Mr. Walker joined Capital Title in 1998 as its CFO, and he will retain that post for the near term, the company said. In addition to title insurance, Capital Title provides appraisal and other transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company can be found online at http://www.capitaltitlegroup.com.

Glenn Brunker has been named president of Oak Street Mortgage LLC, a mortgage lender based in Carmel, Ind.Mr. Brunker was most recently executive director of marketing and retail sales of the company. He previously held executive positions at Household International, Bank One, and Boatmen's Bank. Steve Alonso, chairman and chief executive officer of Oak Street, said Mr. Brunker's assumption of the company's day-to-day operations "will allow me to more fully focus on driving strategy while identifying further growth and diversification opportunities." The company can be found on the Web at http://www.oakstreetmortgage.com.

Robert J. Rothschild has been named to the newly created position of senior vice president for commercial real estate lending at Signature Bank, New York.Mr. Rothschild, 54, was most recently vice president and group head of Long Island regional real estate lending for the Bank of New York. His 30-year banking career also included several real-estate-related finance positions with Dollar Dry Dock Savings Bank, White Plains, N.Y., and a position as vice president and team leader in real estate lending at Manufacturer's Hanover Trust. Signature can be found on the Web at http://www.signatureny.com.

LION Inc., Seattle, has announced key management changes in two of its mortgage-related businesses.Kristi Angell has been hired to run Mortgage 101, LION's lead generation business, and Sern Clementson has been promoted to president of Tuttle Risk Management Services, a LION subsidiary that provides mortgage pipeline risk management services. Mr. Clementson will also head up LION's capital markets business segment. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.lioninc.com.

CenterPoint Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Oak Brook, Ill., has announced the termination of Paul T. Ahern, who had been on administrative leave from his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the REIT since April 15.CenterPoint gave no reason for the termination. The company also announced the promotions of Sean P. Maher to executive vice president for portfolio operations and of Neil P. Doyle to senior vice president for development. Mr. Maher was previously a senior vice president, and joined the REIT as vice president of investments in 1997. Mr. Doyle also joined the company in 1997 and became vice president for development in 1998. The REIT can be found online at http://www.centerpoint-prop.com.

Rodney M. Colombi has been promoted to executive vice president of corporate finance for New Century Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., and David N. Kenneally has been promoted to senior vice president and controller.Mr. Colombi joined the company in 2002 and was most recently senior vice president of corporate development. He served previously as SVP at Countrywide Financial Corp. and held senior finance posts at H&R Block/Option One Mortgage Corp., Bank of America Consumer Lending and Trust Services, and Household, New Century said. Mr. Kenneally joined New Century in 2003 and was most recently vice president and controller. He was previously SVP and chief financial officer at Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. and held senior financial positions at LoanGenie.com and Fidelity National Financial. New Century can be found online at http://www.ncen.com.

John A. Vella has been named president and chief operating officer of Aames Investment Corp., a Los Angeles-based mortgage real estate investment trust.Mr. Vella was most recently chief sales officer for Option One Mortgage, a national subprime lender, and he previously served as Option One's chief administrative officer. Aames can be found on the Web at http://www.aames.com.

Christian Pierotti has been named to the newly created position of manager of governmental affairs at PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. Ltd., also known as PMI Europe.PMI said Mr. Pierotti will be responsible for developing PMI Europe's regulatory affairs strategy and directing all governmental lobbying efforts at the European Union and national levels. "Mr. Pierotti will initially focus on the implementation of Basel II [capital adequacy guidelines] at the EU and national level seeking to recognize appropriate capital relief for banks that transfer credit risk through mortgage insurance," PMI said. "Additionally, he will work to position mortgage insurance as a prudent means to expand covered bond loan eligibility, extending this important -- and growing -- funding tool to a broader array of residential mortgage loans."

Lenders One, a 60-company mortgage cooperative based in St. Louis, has hired a former top official at CitiMortgage to help it develop new business opportunities.Until recently, the new hire, Jeff McGuiness, was executive vice president and managing director of correspondent lending at CitiMortgage of O'Fallon, Mo. Mr. McGuiness will hold the title of EVP and will also focus on managing the co-operative's existing mortgage banking relationships. "As margins tighten for independent mortgage bankers in the future, Jeff will focus on developing strategies that independent lenders can use to ensure their success," said Lenders One president Tim Stern. Formed in 2000, the cooperative's members fund about $45 billion annually.

A number of executives who formerly worked for E*Trade's correspondent unit have joined a new correspondent division at American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.Rick Pishalski, AHMIC's new executive vice president and correspondent lending director, previously was correspondent channel senior executive and business manager at E*Trade Financial Mortgage Services; Jim Chatman, AHMIC's new vice president and Southeast account executive, previously was VP, Southeast Lending at E*Trade; Dan Ferris, AHMIC's new VP and Pacific Northwest AE, previously was VP, Southeast Lending, at E*Trade; and Brideen Gallagher, AHMIC's new VP and Northeast AE, previously was VP, Northeast lending at E*Trade. E*Trade said earlier this year that it planned to phase out its correspondent division. AHMIC can be found online at http://www.americanhm.com.

David C. Schneider has been named president of the Home Loans Division of Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc.WaMu said Mr. Schneider, 39, will take the reins of the division from the company's chief operating officer, Steve Rotella, who has served as acting head of the operation since March. Mr. Schneider was previously president and COO of CitiMortgage Inc., St. Louis, which he joined in 2001. Before that, he was executive vice president of retail banking for Old Kent Financial Corp. and chief financial officer of Old Kent Mortgage. WaMu can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

Alina Garcia has been named chief operating officer of the retail lending division of Wachovia Mortgage Corp., Charlotte, N.C., and David Overcast has been named chief administrative officer of the division.Ms. Garcia has held various executive posts with Wachovia and Countrywide Home Loans, and in nearly 18 years of mortgage industry experience has been responsible for loan origination, affordable housing, strategic planning, and other activities, the company said. Mr. Overcast was most recently the operational risk executive for Bank of America's mortgage division. He has worked in the financial services industry for 16 years, during which he has managed incentive compensation plans, operational risk reporting and mitigation, and other operations, according to Wachovia. Wachovia Mortgage can be found on the Web at http://www.wachovia.com.

John W. Stewart, a co-founder of Metrocities Mortgage LLC, Sherman Oaks, Calif., and former executive at Countrywide Home Loans, has been rehired by Metrocities as president of strategic initiatives.Mr. Stewart will work in collaboration with Metrocities' retail divisional presidents and senior executives in managing the company's national strategic business development plan, Metrocities said. Most recently a managing director of strategic business development at Countrywide, Mr. Stewart co-founded Metrocities in 1989 and helped form the company's Affiliated Business Arrangement joint venture program, Metrocities said.

Fannie Mae has announced the hiring of S. Jean Hinrichs, who will join the mortgage giant in July as its chief internal auditor.Ms. Hinrichs, whose title will be senior vice president for internal audit, will be charged with conducting a risk assessment and then developing and executing a comprehensive audit program, Fannie Mae said. She will also be responsible for dealing with the outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and the company's safety-and-soundness regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. "A sound and effective internal audit function will ensure that internal audit activity is compliant with all professional and ethical standards as the company moves through the reaudit and restatement process," said Fannie Mae chairman Stephen B. Ashley. Ms. Hinrichs established a global internal audit function at Barclays Global Investors, San Francisco, where she was employed from 1997 to 2004, Fannie Mae said. She was previously vice president and general auditor of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Robert G. Partlow has resigned his position as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Fieldstone Investment Corp., a residential mortgage banking company based in Columbia, Md., according to Fieldstone.The company said Mr. Partlow resigned for personal and family reasons. He will remain with Fieldstone until Aug. 5. The company said it has launched a search for a new CFO. Fieldstone can be found online at http://www.fieldstoneinvestment.com.