Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Cenlar, Fairway make leadership moves

September 1, 2022 8:01 PM

Fannie Mae appoints Cissy Yang chief audit executive

Washington-based Fannie Mae welcomed the addition of financial-services leader Cissy Yang as senior vice president and chief audit executive. Yang joins Fannie Mae from Credit Suisse, where she recently served as head of audit for investment banking, fixed income, U.S. legal entities and Americas compliance. She also previously held positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen.

In her role, Yang will help lead Fannie Mae's audit and risk-assessment strategy, tapping into expertise in management and development of internal control frameworks within the financial industry. She will also serve on Fannie Mae's management committee. In the second quarter, the government-sponsored enterprise achieved net worth of $54.4 billion, with net income totaling $4.65 billion.

Cenlar adds risk modeling, default management experts as VPs

Top, left to right: Ang Shen, Adam Saab. Bottom, left to right: Jessica Sharp, Adam Wood, Jason Schmidt

Following recent changes in leadership, including the retirement of longtime CEO Greg Tornquist, mortgage subservicer Cenlar made several additions to its default management operations and risk modeling teams. Cenlar services loans in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Default rates have approached early 2020 levels, according to several research organizations.

New vice presidents joining default management operations at the Ewing, New Jersey-based company are Adam Saab, who takes over as head of early-stage default; Adam Wood, the new head of late-stage default; Jason Schmidt, appointed as head of claims; and Jessica Sharp, incoming head of foreclosure.

Saab spent 14 years with CitiMortgage, where he most recently served as senior vice president of default operations, and previously worked at PNC Bank and LoanCare. In his new role, Saab will oversee all early stages of the default process, including loss mitigation. A former vice president of default operations at Mr. Cooper, Wood will manage bankruptcies, real-estate owned property preservation, claims, loss analysis and foreclosures. Wood also previously held roles at Fannie Mae.

Schmidt will help manage claims, tapping into experience in bankruptcy and government and mortgage-insurance claims after stints at Mr. Cooper and Ocwen. Sharp brings expertise in foreclosure from past positions at Nationstar Mortgage (now known as Mr. Cooper), and more recently, PennyMac, where she was vice president of default.

Ang Shen also joined Cenlar as vice president of model risk management and will oversee a team ensuring adherence to regulatory and compliance guidelines company-wide. Shen previously held the role of advisory director at KPMG's modeling and valuation group, helping to create and deliver validations for the firm's financial-industry clients. Earlier in his career, he also worked on mortgage valuation for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.

Movement Mortgage adds Fairway alums Sarah Middleton, Kevin McGovern

Lwft to right: Sarah Middleton, Kevin McGovern

National lender Movement Mortgage, which funds approximately $30 billion in annual volume, tapped two Fairway Independent Mortgage alums for newly created sales leadership positions. Sarah Middleton steps in as chief growth officer, while Kevin McGovern takes on the responsibilities of director of coaching.

Industry veteran Middleton was most recently president of sales development and recruiting at Fairway, as well as CEO of the Fairway Ignite coaching platform. Before Fairway, Middleton had served in leadership positions at Guild Mortgage and Liberty Financial. As chief growth officer, she will lead Movement's efforts to develop sales leadership teams across the country. McGovern, a former executive vice president at Fairway and chief operations officer for Fairway Ignite, will focus on building a coaching platform at the Fort Mill, South Carolina lender. He previously founded and ran his own coaching company before helping launch Fairway Ignite in 2015.

SWBC appoints Jim Collier, Paul Gorske to C-suite roles

Left to right: Paul Gorske, Jim Collier

San Antonio-based SWBC Mortgage, a subsidiary of the financial services firm of the same name, tapped financial and home-lending veterans Jim Collier and Paul Gorske as executives on its chief officer team. Collier joins SWBC as chief risk officer after most recently holding the position of chief operating officer at Ruoff Mortgage. Focused on technology, he will be responsible for enhancements aimed at scalability and greater efficiency, as well as automation improvements to benefit clients and employees.

Gorske steps up to the role of chief technology officer, in charge of digital strategy development at the lender, as well as management of the mortgage application process for SWBC Mortgage personnel. He comes to the company after recently serving in leadership roles at Ryan LLC, a technology provider to the tax-services industry. He also spent several years working in the mortgage industry, at PrimeLending, Pacific Union Financial, Saxon and Nationstar.

Xactus welcomes regulatory expert Ross Gloudeman

Digital asset-verification service provider Xactus named Ross Gloudeman general counsel and chief compliance officer. Gloudeman will be responsible for modernizing compliance strategies and improving regulatory framework to meet government requirements. His appointment comes on the heels of several other executive hires this year, which followed the company's rebranding.

Gloudeman comes to the Philadelphia-based firm after holding the same roles at mortgage compliance fintech Azimuth GRC. He also served in leadership positions at other home lending-affiliated firms earlier in his career, including Home Point Financial and Black Knight

Enact adds industry veteran Neenu Kainth to chief officer ranks

Private-mortgage insurance provider Enact tapped digital expert Neenu Kainth as chief customer experience officer. She joins Enact after holding leadership roles at companies in and outside the mortgage industry. Most recently, she was executive vice president chief digital officer at Newrez and previously held the chief digital officer position at Mr. Cooper. In the second quarter, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based insurer earned net income of $131 million after going public late last year.

Falcon Capital promotes Ken Yoo, welcomes Natisha Dawson, Walter Allen

Left to right: Natisha Dawson, Ken Yoo, Walter Allen

Alexandria, Virginia-based Falcon Capital Advisors, the consulting firm serving mortgage and capital markets, recently promoted Ken Yoo to chief operating officer, and appointed housing and financial industry experts Walter Allen and Natisha Dawson to leadership roles.

As COO, Yoo will manage daily operations, strategic development, M&A planning and compliance oversight. During his tenure with Falcon Capital, Yoo has helped lead teams and data projects serving a range of commercial and government clients.

Allen joins Falcon as managing director after serving as president of real estate fintech HouseAmp. He also spent several years in leadership roles at housing data and analytics provider CoreLogic. In his position, he will be in charge of business development for Falcon Capital's eMortgage consultancy as well as for advisory services aimed at financial institutions and government.

Dawson steps into the role of director of finance, overseeing all accounting matters for the company. She previously founded and was chief financial officer of The Griffin Way, a company providing outsourced services to small- and medium-sized businesses, and held other executive finance roles at global marketing and communications firms.

Fairway names new senior VPs in loan-production expansion effort

Scott Bristol

Fairway Independent Mortgage added three loan-industry veterans as senior vice presidents, in efforts to ramp up expansion in its production group. The Madison, Wisconsin-based lender added Scott Bristol, Brian Chick and John Lowe after having increased the number of originators by 30% over the past year, according to CEO Steve Jacobson.

Formerly president at PrimeLending, Bristol joins Fairway to oversee sales and recruiting. He most recently served as senior vice president of national production at Flagstar Bank, helping return it to profitability. Also an alum of PrimeLending, where he led a team which funded $2.3 billion last year, Chick will serve as area manager. Lowe will step into the role of division manager after most holding a similar position at RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation.

Freddie Mac Multifamily promotes Ian Ouwerkerk to senior VP

McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac announced the promotion of Ian Ouwerkerk to senior vice president of underwriting and credit in its multifamily business, a position he had been holding on an interim basis since early 2022. In the role, he will continue to assist lenders in Freddie Mac Multifamily's Optigo program. In the second quarter, the government-sponsored enterprise reported net earnings of $285 million in the multifamily business unit.

Ouwerkerk joined Freddie Mac Multifamily in 2008 and most recently served as vice president of underwriting. He previously held the position of senior director of underwriting in the Southeastern region, and before coming to the government-sponsored enterprise, he worked as a commercial real estate broker.

Angel Oak hires Daniel Sheehy to grow correspondent business

Atlanta-based Angel Oak Home Loans hired Daniel Sheehy as senior correspondent account manager. Sheehy will be in charge of creating new partnerships with lenders nationwide to increase Angel Oak's presence in non-QM and agency markets. With past experience in correspondent sales at Homepoint Financial, Sheehy also served as an account manager at Chase Home Lending. Sheehy's appointment follows other recent Angel Oak staff additions, as the lender attempts to make inroads into the agency correspondent market.

Exceleras promotes Tom Simon to CEO

Exceleras, the software firm providing tools to servicers and other businesses involved in real-estate-owned property disposition, recently promoted Tom Simon to CEO. Formerly chief experience officer, Simon takes over the helm at the Glencoe, Illinois-based company and will head efforts to improve user experience through added features and enhanced analytics and reporting capabilities that will facilitate real-estate transactions made on its platform.

Prior to joining Exceleras in 2020, Simon held management and talent development leadership positions at companies across several industries, such as Motorola, Baxter Healthcare, Hewlett-Packard and CNA Insurance.

Capital One hires Lima Ekram to head research at commercial bank

The financial institutions group of Capital One's commercial bank recently appointed Lima Ekra as managing director, residential mortgage banking research. In the role, she will evaluate market insights and conduct research on macroeconomic trends affecting mortgage banking to assist commercial clients, including nonbanks, with financing and liquidity needs.

Before joining Capital One, whose global headquarters are located in McLean, Virginia, Ekram served as vice president at Moody's Investors Service. She has authored more than 50 research papers on topics from collateral valuation and the risks of non-QM origination trends to the impact of new regulations on the mortgage market.

Nations Lending names Greg Griffin central region manager

Nations Lending, headquartered in Cleveland, announced the appointment of Greg Griffin as vice president, central region manager. Griffin will manage existing branches across the Central U.S. and look for opportunities to grow the company's presence there. So far in 2022, Nations Lending has opened three new locations in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Griffin brings past industry experience from leading home lenders, including Guaranteed Rate, where he recently held the title of senior vice president of strategic growth. Earlier in his career, he spent several years with New American Funding.

Embrace Home Loans hires Jace Stirling as regional sales manager

Embrace Home Loans, based in Middletown, Rhode Island, named James "Jace" Stirling regional sales manager for the Southeast region. In the role, Stirling will lead and develop Embrace sales teams in the region and also recruit mortgage originators and branch managers.

Beginning his career as a loan officer, Stirling later joined Wells Fargo, serving as general manager of a joint venture between the bank and a major homebuilder. He also spent nearly 10 years in leadership at SunTrust serving Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Most recently, Stirling was Mid-Atlantic regional manager for U.S. Bank

Renaissance Home Loans adds Mr. Cooper alum Darren Russell

Renaissance Home Loans recently hired Darren Russell as vice president of business development. In the role, Russell will establish corporate partnerships aimed at improved customer service and cost reduction. He will also participate in developing Renaissance's horizontal expansion strategy, a multiyear plan intended to address the biggest challenges facing the mortgage industry today.

Before coming to the Royal Palm Beach, Florida-based lender, Russell worked at Mr. Cooper, helping develop correspondent-sales strategies, including assignment of trade, co-issue and bulk acquisition. His industry background includes tenures at Pacific Union Financial, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation and JPMorgan Chase.