Dark Matter, Cenlar, Loandepot make new hires, leadership promotions

November 9, 2023 9:23 PM

Dark Matter adds Stephanie Durflinger, Michael Housch to C-suite

Left to right: Michael Housch, Stephanie Durflinger

Dark Matter Technologies, the newly rebranded Jacksonville, Florida-based operator of the Empower loan-origination system and a subsidiary of Constellation Software, recently welcomed technology experts Stephanie Durflinger and Michael Housch to its executive leadership team. As chief product officer, Durflinger will oversee growth and development for Empower and other Dark Matter offerings. She previously held similar product leadership positions at ICE Mortgage Technology and Sagent.

Housch takes on the role of chief risk and information security officer, responsible for developing a technology security and compliance program to cover vulnerability management, cloud architecture and incident response. He will also assess Dark Matter's enterprise risk within operations, compliance and strategy. Housch most recently held the title of chief information security officer at Black Knight.

Cenlar elevates David Schneider, John Mezzasalma, adds Tom Byrne

Left to right: David Schneider, John Mezzasalma, Tom Byrne

Mortgage subservicer Cenlar FSB announced the promotion of former Chief Financial Officer David Schneider to president. A previous leader at several lending units, including CitiMortgage, WaMu Home Loans, Stearns Lending and Ditech, Schneider will oversee operations across Cenlar's key business divisions. Stepping in as acting CFO to oversee the company's finance team, is John Mezzasalma, who was elevated from senior vice president, finance. Mezzasalma's professional background also includes tenures as chief accounting officer for the Ewing, New Jersey-based company and senior manager at KPMG.

The promotions come following the recent appointment of Tom Byrne to a newly created position of vice president of quality control. A veteran in quality control and risk management, Byrne held similar leadership roles at Ocwen/Homeward Residential, GMAC ResCap and most recently, Homebridge Financial. Byrne will develop strategy and objectives for an internal team and outsourced vendors to ensure Cenlar quality control programs run effectively.

Loandepot taps David Smith to head VA lending

Irvine, California-based national lender and servicer Loandepot promoted David Smith to the newly created position of vice president of national VA lending, A former sergeant in the U.S. Army, Smith will continue education and outreach efforts to military communities and Realtor partners to help all parties understand Department of Veterans Affairs loan programs. He will also spearhead Loandepot's VA lending strategy and lead its internal advisory group of originators specializing in serving veterans.

Prior to joining Loandepot in 2022, Smith held several other lending, real estate, sales and training roles within the housing industry at the likes of Prudential Real Estate, USAA, Wells Fargo and Mutual of Omaha.

Click n’ Close taps Kara Lamphere as chief operating officer

Wholesale and correspondent lender Click n' Close added Kara Lamphere as chief operating officer. In her new role, she will be responsible for initiatives to drive company growth, particularly via its Smartbuy down payment assistance product suite. Lamphere joins the executive team at Addison, Texas-based Click n' Close after most recently holding the same title at Interlinc Mortgage. Her prior industry background includes executive-level roles at several lenders, including Guaranteed Rate, CMG Financial and Primelending.

Lower adds Amir Syed as chief growth officer

Mortgage lender and software solutions provider Lower welcomed Amir Syed as chief growth officer. In his new role at the Columbus, Ohio-based based fintech, Syed will be in charge of growing market share through all of Lower's channels, with a focus on driving increased production through coaching. A top producer with more than $1 billion in originations, Syed is also the co-founder of loan-officer education and training platform Growth Only Coaching.

Southern Bancorp builds mortgage operations, hiring four new leaders

Left to right: Ginny Markham-Jones, Jeremy Davis, Lydia Smith, Katie Thompson

Southern Bancorp, the community development financial institution based in Little Rock, Arkansas, announced the expansion of retail home lending operations, recently adding four leaders to head its standalone mortgage company. The division aims to increase homeownership opportunities, particularly among underserved minorities in the markets it serves, aligning with Southern Bancorp's overall mission.

The CDFI appointed equitable housing veteran Jeremy Davis as president of mortgage, a role in which he will be responsible for expanding Southern Bancorp's efforts and outreach in the industry. Davis most recently served as president and CEO of Inqlusion Mortgage Capital, which focused on lending to diverse populations in the Southeastern U.S.

Also joining Davis are Ginny Markham-Jones, Lydia Smith and Katie Thompson. Markham-Jones comes to the company as its director of mortgage operations and compliance, responsible for driving overall efficiency and ensuring the CDFI meets purpose-driven goals. She previously held the title of chief operating officer at Inqlusion. Smith steps up to the role of director of mortgage production, in charge of developing and overseeing strategies maximizing growth of Southern Bancorp's mortgage lending activities. Smith served most recently as vice president of diversity lending at Inqlusion. Thompson takes over as director of secondary markets, responsible for loan sale activities, pricing strategies and product oversight. She joins Southern Bancorp after holding a similar role at Texas-based community bank and mortgage servicer Colonial Cos.

Housing Policy Council promotes Matthew Douglas to senior VP

Washington-based Housing Policy Council announced the promotion of Matthew Douglas to senior vice president for mortgage policy. In the role, Douglas will lead policy engagement related to mortgage originations and servicing for the trade group, which represents companies across industries with a stake in sound housing finance. His background with HPC includes work with agencies and regulators on loss mitigation concerns, appraisal reform and expanded credit access to previously underserved communities.

Douglas joined HPC after holding policy-development roles at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he was responsible for initiatives concerning its Duty to Serve affordable housing programs and also worked on servicing and counterparty risk teams. His policy experience also includes roles with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae.

Arc Home names Brian Devlin president, future CEO

Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based non-QM and non-agency lender Arc Homes tapped Brian Devlin as president. With a background in non-QM lending, Devlin has held roles in product development and capital markets in his mortgage career. Devlin is also set to step up to CEO following a brief transition period to replace its outgoing leader. In his new leadership roles with the wholesale and correspondent lender, Devlin will be responsible for spearheading growth efforts.

Proper Rate appoints Peter Boomer to president

Chicago-based Proper Rate appointed Peter Boomer as president to oversee growth and overall direction of its programs and products. The company is a retail joint venture between Guaranteed Rate and @properties. Prior to taking over the helm at the retail lender, Boomer served as an executive vice president of Guaranteed Rate. Previously, he held mortgage leadership positions at PNC Bank and JPMorgan Chase, assuming responsibilities over several aspects of loan production, including strategy, underwriting, closing and technology.

True appoints Stephen Butler to president, chief revenue officer

New York-based True, the technology company offering artificial intelligence-enabled data solutions to tax and mortgage industries, announced the appointment of Stephen Butler to president and chief revenue officer. In his new leadership role, Butler will guide True's growth within the lending industry by developing partnerships, go-to-market strategies and other initiatives aimed at improving the customer experience. Before joining True, Butler headed operations as CEO at GoDocs, the closing solutions and document-creation platform serving the commercial lending industry.

Citywide Home Loans taps John Cady as president

Salt Lake City-based lender Citywide Home Loans named mortgage veteran John Cady president. After beginning his career as a loan producer, Cady moved into management, gaining experience with many lenders while working in different segments of mortgage operations, including retail and wholesale channels, joint ventures, credit unions, consumer direct and human resources. In his new leadership role, Cady will be in charge of furthering Citywide's national growth. The company operates a partnership branch model, with offices in 36 states.

RCN Capital welcomes Marc Heenan to manage growth, strategy

Real estate investment lending firm RCN Capital, based in South Windsor, Connecticut, welcomed industry veteran Marc Heenan as managing director of growth and strategy. In the role, Heenan will evaluate new products and other investment-channel opportunities to serve RCN clients. He will also be responsible for identifying and building new relationships with industry partners.

Heenan comes to RCN from Corevest Finance, where he most recently served as head of sales. His background in the investment-lending space includes roles at housing investment platform Peerstreet. Previously, he held positions at Onewest Bank and Merrill Lynch.

Formfree names Jenny Moss director of marketing

Photo by Eric Bern

Formfree, the asset verification and data solutions fintech based in Athens, Georgia, welcomed Jenny Moss as director of marketing. Moss joins the company after previously serving as a client services manager and director at public relations firm Depth. Prior to Depth, she worked in communications and marketing for Silverton Mortgage after starting her career in media relations within sport management.

Moss comes to Formfree as the company expands its offerings with the introduction of Passport and Formfree Exchange, services both aimed at easing consumer borrowing and connecting them with lenders.

First Federal Bank of KC hires sales veteran Schuyler Vaughan

First Federal Bank of Kansas City welcomed mortgage veteran Schuyler Vaughan as senior vice president of mortgage banking. In his new role, he will lead growth of the Leawood, Kansas-based mutual bank's nationwide home lending operations, tapping into his sales background and overseeing customer acquisition and the development of a production team. Previously, he held the role of national sales manager and head of mortgage banking at CIBC and also served as a manager at Wells Fargo.

Servicelink welcomes Joe Amoroso, Laurinda Clemente, Tom Lum

Left to right: Tom Lum, Laurinda Clemente, Joe Amoroso

Technology-backed mortgage solutions provider Servicelink welcomed three new national sales executives to its originations division: Joe Amoroso, Laurinda Clemente and Tom Lum. Each will be responsible for driving client growth strategy of the Moon Township, Pennsylvania-based company's products. Also holding the title of vice president, Amoroso joins Servicelink from Catic company UCLS Universal Component Lender Services. He previously built and headed Indeed Abstract, a captive title company at Homebridge Financial, and served in leadership at the likes of REMN, CitiMortgage, Optimum Financial Services and Fairbank Mortgage.

Clemente comes to Servicelink after prior roles at the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, where she drove growth and adoption of the tool in the Eastern U.S. Outside of MERS, Clemente's mortgage-related background encompasses work as a lender, government liaison and consultant. Lum brings expertise in business development and capital markets from multiple lending channels, with tenures at Village Capital & Investments and Millenium Bank.

PMI Rate Pro adds Garrett Hartzog, Allen Pollack as advisors

Left to right: Allen Pollack, Garrett Hartzog

Insurance-pricing engine and product-comparison platform PMI Rate Pro recently welcomed new strategic advisors Garrett Hartzog and Allen Pollack, at the same time the company also launches a brand refresh. Hartzog and Pollack will help guide growth of the Overland Park, Kansas-based technology enterprise's MIEngine and MIQuote services.

Hartzog comes to PMI Rate Pro after holding roles at PMI Mortgage Insurance as well as MGIC. He also brings experience from roles at Bank of America and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. With professional background as a technology consultant, Pollack has helped develop software platforms and systems at multiple businesses, advising mortgage startups during his career on how to scale operations and grab market share.