Career moves

The First American Corp., Dallas, has promoted Chris Leavell to the position of chief operating officer for the company's Mortgage Information Services Group, and Anthony Merlo will become the new president of eAppraiseIT, taking the post vacated by Mr. Leavell.Mr. Leavell will now assume responsibility for MISG's enterprise initiatives, international expansion, and product bundling programs. In addition, he will have direct operating responsibility for various MISG companies. Mr. Merlo will now oversee eAppraiseIT's continued growth in the property valuation market. He joined eAppraiseIT in July 2000 as a vice president of sales for the Eastern Region.

Thomas Wind and Scott Powell have been promoted to the positions of co-chief executive officers of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s home finance business.Mr. Wind, who has been head of capital markets at Chase Home Finance, now has responsibility for the company's prime mortgage business. Before joining the company last year, he was chief financial officer at Nexstar Financial, and he was previously CFO and then president of CitiMortgage. Mr. Powell, who has held the post of chief credit officer for Chase's consumer businesses, is now responsible for home equity and subprime mortgage loans and community development. He joined Bank One in 2002 as chief risk officer for consumer businesses, became president of retail lending in 2003, and then became chief risk officer for JPMorgan Chase's consumer businesses last year after the merger of Bank One and JPMorgan Chase. In addition, the company announced that Thomas Garvey has been named vice chairman of Chase Home Finance. Mr. Garvey, who has been an executive vice president, will focus on prime mortgage production. The parent company can be found online at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.

Guy M. Cheramie has been named chief financial officer of New Orleans-based Sizeler Property Investors Inc., replacing Charles E. Miller Jr., who has resigned.Mr. Miller "intends to pursue other business opportunities," the company said. Mr. Cheramie, 58, has served as CFO of Sizeler Real Estate Management Co., a Sizeler subsidiary, for the past 10 years. The parent company can be found on the Web at http://www.sizeler.net.

DeepGreen Financial, a Cleveland-based home equity lender and business process outsourcer, has announced the hiring of well-known industry veteran Saiyid (Sy) T. Naqvi as chief executive officer.The appointment was announced following the departure of Jerome J. Selitto. Mr. Naqvi, the former president and chief executive officer of PNC Mortgage Corp., was most recently president and CEO of Setara Corp., a consulting firm specializing in business process outsourcing for financial services companies. Before his tenure at PNC, Mr. Naqvi was president and CEO of Sears Mortgage Securities Corp., and before that he was the vice president of secondary marketing at Citicorp Homeowners Inc. (now Citibank Mortgage). DeepGreen can be found online at http://www.deepgreenfinancial.com.

Rob Cone has been hired as managing partner of the reputation risk practice in the mortgage origination and servicing areas for Imag, a New York-based consulting firm.Mr. Cone has 24 years of experience in the international capital markets as a trader, salesman, and manager of risk products and people, according to Imag, which provides practical advice on reputation risk issues in the financial services industry. Mr. Cone is a former president of National Australia Capital Markets. "The mortgage industry has been tarnished by recent predatory lending and financial accounting scandals and is in dire need of the reputation risk tools and solutions that Imag provides," said Imag president Gary Peterson. The company can be found online at http://www.imagny.com.

Chito Schnupp has been named senior vice president for capital markets at ComUnity Lending, a mortgage company based in Morgan Hill, Calif.The company said her responsibilities will cover all secondary marketing operations, including pricing, trading, hedging, product development, and managing investor and warehouse relationships. Ms. Schnupp has been employed by numerous lenders over the past two decades, including Olympia Funding, Medallion Mortgage/AccuBank, First Franklin/National City Mortgage, Wells Fargo, and Capitol Commerce Mortgage Corp., the company said. ComUnity Lending can be found online at http://www.comunitylending.com.

James P. Witkins has been named senior vice president for technology and chief information officer at Freddie Mac, replacing William I. Ledman, who is retiring on April 1.Mr. Witkins was most recently managing director for technology and operations at Fleet Boston Financial. He previously held positions with Barclays Bank PLC, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, and Chemical Bank. Mr. Ledman has been senior vice president of information and systems and services at Freddie Mac since January 1995. "Bill expressed an interest in retiring two years ago, but agreed to stay on to help the company meet the challenges it was facing," said Eugene M. McQuade, Freddie Mac's president and chief operating officer.

The American Financial Services Association has hired Matthew J. Gannon to run its lobbying operation.AFSA's new director for federal government affairs previously served as director of individual donor programs at the National Republican Congressional Committee. The association can be found on the Web at http://www.americanfinsvcs.com.

Scott Coburn has been promoted to vice president and division manager of CreditFlex Funding, the nonprime lending division of ComUnity Lending, a mortgage lender based in Morgan Hill, Calif.Mr. Coburn has nearly 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, and was most recently vice president and national sales manager for CreditFlex, the company said. His credentials include management roles with Fremont Bank, World Savings, and Freddie Mac, among others. CreditFlex also announced three other personnel changes and said it plans to double the number of its offices around the country this year and begin operations in several new states. The other personnel changes were as follows: Betty Milledge was named vice president of wholesale operations; Suzanne Martindale was named nonprime underwriting manager; and Lynn Terrell was named sales coordinator. CreditFlex can be found online at http://www.creditflexfunding.com.

The Treasury Department has appointed Donald V. Hammond to be acting undersecretary for domestic finance to replace Brian Roseboro, who left Dec. 31.A career Treasury staffer, Mr. Hammond was appointed fiscal assistant secretary in 1998 to provide policy oversight for Treasury's debt issuance activities. Until the White House nominates a new undersecretary, Mr. Hammond will advise Treasury Secretary John Snow on matters involving banking, capital markets, and government-sponsored enterprises.

Brian K. Lipson has been named executive vice president and chief investment officer of Trizec Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust.Mr. Lipson was EVP of TrizecHahn Office Properties, Trizec's predecessor company, from 1997 to 2001. He was most recently a consultant with Maguire Properties Inc., a Los Angeles-based REIT. Trizec, an office REIT, can be found on the Web at http://www.trz.com.

Freddie Mac has placed vice president Paul McDermott in charge of increasing the company's affordable multifamily loan business and investments in low-income housing tax credits.In his newly created position, McDermott will be responsible for Freddie's purchases of small multifamily loans and multifamily loans on subsidized rental properties. "This position is critical to the success of our housing mission," said Freddie senior vice president Adrian Corbiere. Mr. McDermott joined Freddie in April 2002. He previously worked at Lend-Lease Real Estate Investments.

Robert E. Bowers has been named chief financial officer of Wells Real Estate Funds, a national real estate investment management firm based in Atlanta.Mr. Bowers was most recently a financial consultant, and he served previously as CFO of NetBank Inc., an Atlanta-based online bank that originates mortgage and home equity loans, among others. Wells RE Funds can be found on the Web at http://www.wellsref.com.

Vinod Thomas has been named senior vice president for strategic business planning at LandAmerica Default Services, a subsidiary of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va.Mr. Thomas, who had been vice president for national outsourcing, will oversee the creation of partnerships with real estate attorneys, agents, and brokers to establish joint ventures, carry out mergers and acquisitions, and form strategic alliances, LandAmerica said. In addition, the company announced that Rick Snoke has been named vice president - outsourcing manager. Both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Snoke are based in Irvine, Calif. LandAmerica can be found on the Web at http://www.landam.com.

Stephen J. Rotella, chief executive officer of Chase Home Finance, has been named president and chief operating officer of Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, effective Jan. 10.WaMu said Mr. Rotella will be responsible for the oversight of the thrift's retail, commercial, and mortgage businesses as well as the company's technology group and day-to-day administration. Mr. Rotella, 51, has been the CEO of Chase Home Finance and executive vice president of JP Morgan Chase since 2001. He was COO of Chase Home Finance from 1998 to 2001, and EVP of servicing at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Co. from 1991 to 1998, WaMu said. "We embark on our new five-year strategic plan as a far larger and more complex company than we were just five years ago, and so the addition of a president and COO to our team is the natural next step in our growth and evolution as a top-tier, national financial services company," said Kerry Killinger, WaMu's chairman and CEO. WaMu can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

Weingarten Realty Investors, Houston, has announced the promotions of Stephen C. Richter to executive vice president and chief financial officer and of Johnny L. Hendrix to EVP for asset management.In addition, Scott Morway was promoted to vice president and regional director of new development, and Mark D. Stout was named vice president and associate general counsel, the company said. Weingarten, a real estate investment trust that chiefly owns shopping centers and industrial properties, can be found on the Web at http://www.weingarten.com.

Moody's Investors Service has appointed Kei Kitayama, an executive who has worked as a commercial mortgage-backed securities analyst in Japan, as the new representative director of Moody's Japan K.K. in Tokyo.Mr. Kitayama has served in a variety of capacities in his six years at Moody's, most recently as managing director for structured finance. He has also served as managing director for CMBS and esoteric assets. He replaces Naoki Yamauchi, who plans to leave the company in February to pursue a long-held interest in teaching, according to Moody's. The rating agency can be found on the Web at http://www.moodys.com.

David M. Applegate, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of GMAC Mortgage Corp., has been elected to the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.Mr. Applegate was elected to a "non-guaranteed" Delaware directorship based on the FHLBank's level of capital stock holdings, the Pittsburgh bank said. In addition to his titles at GMAC Mortgage, Mr. Applegate is chairman of GMAC Bank, Horsham, Pa.; president of GMAC Residential; and chairman of GMAC Home Services. The FHLBank also elected a second new director, Gerard M. Thomchick, who is senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of First Commonwealth Financial Corp., Indiana, Pa.

R.J. Arnett has been named to the new position of executive vice president and national wholesale prime production manager of MortgageIT Inc.Mr. Arnett was most recently senior vice president and co-manager of the Western region of MIT Lending, MortgageIT's wholesale lending division. His new responsibilities were formerly held by Gary Bierfriend, who was recently elevated to president of MortgageIT. Before joining MIT Lending, Mr. Arnett spent nine years with Countrywide, departing as executive vice president of its wholesale division.

Mark Elliott McLeod has been named president and chief executive officer of MEM Financial Solutions Inc., a mortgage brokerage based in the Albany suburb of Half Moon, N.Y.Mr. McLeod formed the company, which is licensed in New York and Florida, in June 1999. He describes it as being based on a new corporate model in which 100% of an employee's income is based on production. "If you don't produce, you don't get paid," Mr. McLeod said. "It's very simple -- we do not have mediocre sales people sitting around and receiving a predetermined salary for work they may or may not be doing." Mr. McLeod was formerly employed by UC Lending, Baton Rouge, La., and First United Mortgage Co., Kenilworth, N.J.