Freddie Mac, MBA, Cenlar, Floify appoint, promote new leaders

June 10, 2022 5:00 AM

Freddie Mac Multifamily promotes Erlita Shively, Corey Aber to VP roles

Left to right: Erlita Shively, Corey Aber

Government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac tapped two company veterans for promotions within its multifamily unit. The McLean, Virginia-based organization named Corey Aber vice president of mission, policy and strategy and appointed Erlita Shively vice president of multifamily counterparty risk management.

Aber previously held several roles related to the multifamily unit’s mission and policy objectives, and in his elevated position, he will oversee Freddie Mac strategies surrounding regulatory relations and new initiatives meant to support affordable housing and underserved markets.

Shively is the GSE’s former director of customer compliance management for multifamily and started her career at Freddie Mac as a senior auditor. With her promotion, she will oversee a team developing strategies for the multifamily unit’s servicer relationships and lender compliance, including risk-management activities.

Cenlar names Steven Taylor chief information officer

Loan subservicer Cenlar appointed Steven Taylor to the role of senior vice president, chief information officer. A finance IT expert, Taylor will be responsible for technology initiatives at the company, ensuring its digital operations push Cenlar’s business strategy forward. Cenlar plans to continue further investing in multiple technologies, including automation, according to Rob Lux, Cenlar’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Before joining Cenlar, Taylor was a technology consultant advising corporate executives as president and CEO of his own firm, playing a key role in several mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he served multiple roles at Fidelity National Financial and Fidelity Information Services.

Inlanta promotes Paul Buege to CEO

Inlanta Mortgage, a national lender based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, promoted its chief operating officer and president, Paul Buege, to CEO. Buege joined Inlanta in 2013 as COO and added the responsibilities of president in 2018. He began his mortgage career at Fleet Mortgage Corp., before going on to serve in leadership at several independent mortgage banks prior to joining Inlanta.

As CEO, Buege plans to expand use of data and integrate technology tools and will also lead company growth in an effort to expand Inlanta’s national footprint. Inlanta is currently licensed in 27 states. Buege will continue to serve in the capacities of COO and president as well as CEO.

American Financial welcomes Timothy Yanoti, promotes Christopher Guerin

Left to right: Christopher Guerin, Timothy Yanoti

American Financial Resources welcomed the return of past company president Timothy Yanoti. Previously president of AFR from 2014 to 2018, Yanoti rejoins the lender in the same role, while also adding the title of chief financial officer. He will guide AFR operations, tapping into his familiarity with the company and mortgage industry. Yanoti most recently served as partner and CFO at mortgage title-insurance firm Lincoln Holdings. Earlier, he served as executive vice president and chief growth officer for Ocwen, where he oversaw its retail, correspondent, bulk, MSR purchase and reverse businesses. During his career, Yanoti has also held executive positions with the likes of GE Capital, GE Mortgage and Fannie Mae.

AFR also recently promoted Christopher Guerin to executive vice president of origination and business development, a new role within the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company. In the role, Guerin will oversee AFR’s wholesale and consumer-facing divisions, building and growing its core operations. He most recently served as vice president of origination, a position he held since 2017, and has also worked at AFR in various loan production roles.

Floify names Sofia Rossato president, taps Dan Goldman for sales VP

Left to right: Sofia Rossato, Dan Goldman

Floify, a subsidiary of Porch Group providing loan-origination point-of-sale tools and solutions, announced the appointment of two new executives. The Boulder, Colorado-based fintech tapped Sofia Rossato as president and general manager and named Dan Goldman vice president of sales. Rossato was most recently CEO of chat platform SnapEngage and previously served as chief operating officer of the information division at MarkIt. She has also held leadership positions at Wall Street On Demand before its acquisition by Goldman Sachs. As president and GM, Rossato will be in charge of Floify’s operations, growth and performance.

Goldman joins Floify after serving as senior vice president at First Integrity Mortgage Services. Goldman also previously held the role of national sales leader at Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, as well as other leadership positions with Pacific Union Financial, Metlife Home Loans and Aurora Loan Services. In his new executive role, Goldman will lead Floify’s sales development efforts.

Anchor Loans promotes Andrew Jewett, Tracey Williams

Fix-and-flip lender Anchor Loans, based in Thousand Oaks, California, recently promoted Andrew Jewett and Tracey Williams to elevated leadership roles. Jewett, who served as senior vice president of enterprise sales, steps up to the position of chief strategy officer. Williams becomes Anchor’s manager of corporate planning. Anchor generated $1.8 billion in originations last year and recently launched a new single-family-rental investor loan program

Jewett will be in charge of corporate growth and strategy, overseeing national expansion and the introduction of new products at Anchor. He will also manage client relations, pricing strategy and intelligence analytics. Previously, he served as head of lending and co-head of capital markets at home-selling platform Sundae, and also held executive positions at real estate investment firm Wedgewood and Royal Bank of Scotland. In her new role, Williams will build Anchor’s project management office, overseeing and implementing initiatives. She will also manage cross-department collaboration on projects. A real estate entrepreneur, Williams has also been involved in several other ventures within aviation and health care.

Open Mortgage hires Brenda Hedeen as CFO, promotes Anthony Nolte

Left to right: Brenda Hedeen, Anthony Nolte

Multichannel lender Open Mortgage, headquartered in Austin, Texas, appointed Brenda Hedeen as chief financial officer. She will oversee the company’s finance and accounting functions, applying her experience in fiscal planning and analysis. She will also be in charge of creating and implementing financial-management standards for the lender. Hedeen joins the company following CFO tenures at other mortgage firms, including On Q Financial and Mann Mortgage. A certified public accountant, Hedeen also has worked in private and public accounting.

Hedeen takes over as CFO from Anthony Nolte, who occupied both CFO and legal counsel roles since 2019. Nolte was elevated to the newly created position of chief legal officer at Open Mortgage. Hedeen's and Nolte's appointments follows the hiring or promotion of other leaders at the company over the past two years, including its president, chief compliance officer and chief revenue officer.

Waterstone taps Paul Garrigues as chief financial officer

Waterstone Mortgage, a subsidiary of WaterStone Bank based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, recently named Paul Garrigues chief financial officer. Garrigues will serve as liaison for the parent company, and manage Waterstone’s corporate accounting and financial guidance for its branches. He will also help develop the company’s strategic growth plan as a member of its executive team. A certified public accountant, Garrigues comes to Waterstone with extensive background in financial services and mortgage, including serving as CFO at credit unions, banks and lenders nationwide.

Cherry Creek adds Rick Hogle as chief revenue officer

Denver-based Cherry Creek Mortgage appointed Rick Hogle chief revenue officer. He will be responsible for retail operations at the lender, managing sales and Cherry Creek’s production network, as well as its recruitment platform and coaching of talent. Most recently, Hogle served as chief strategy officer at Supreme Lending, one of several roles he had within the company over several years, including chief operating officer. He began his career as an originator, and later branch manager, at New Century Mortgage.

MBA promotes Adam DeSanctis to VP of communications

The Mortgage Bankers Association promoted Adam DeSanctis to vice president of communications. DeSanctis had been serving as the director of public affairs since joining the Washington, D.C.-based mortgage trade group in 2018. In his elevated position, DeSanctis will shape MBA’s public affairs strategy and oversee media relations, member communications and video content development. Previously, DeSanctis served in various media relations and communications roles at several mortgage-related and financial organizations, such as Freddie Mac, the National Association of REALTORS, Navy Federal Credit Union, and TD Bank.

Deephaven adds Paul Howarth to expand footprint in Western U.S.

Non-QM and nonagency lender Deephaven Mortgage announced the hiring of Paul Howarth as regional vice president of wholesale sales, responsible for increasing market share in the Western U.S. Based in Southern California, Howarth has worked in business development for several years with mortgage and financial services businesses, including those in the non-QM space. Howarth will be in charge of building an account executive team for Deephaven that will assist brokers and loan officers build up non-QM sales. Howarth’s appointment comes as the Charlotte, North Carolina-based mortgage company grows its leadership team in 2022 with the hiring of new chief sales and chief operating officers.

AMDC appoints CBC Mortgage’s Tai Christensen as chair

The American Mortgage Diversity Council recently announced the selection of Tai Christensen as chair of the organization, replacing Lola Oyewole, who remains on the board of advisors. Christensen originally joined Dallas-based AMDC advisory board in April 2021. She serves as the director of government affairs and diversity, equity and inclusion officer at CBC Mortgage, a chartered housing finance agency based in Cedar City, Utah, serving low-to-moderate-income consumers and providing down payment assistance resources to first-time buyers. In her role as chair, Christensen will lead AMDC’s ongoing efforts to improve diversity and inclusion throughout the industry.

OriginPoint adds John Stewart to lead national sales efforts

OriginPoint, the joint-venture origination business of Guaranteed Rate and real estate brokerage Compass founded in 2021, named John Stewart as executive vice president of national sales. In the position, Stewart will be in charge of sales and recruitment for the Chicago-based mortgage lender, responsible for increasing market share through development of production leaders. Before joining OriginPoint, Stewart was a division manager in the Western U.S. with Guaranteed Rate and also served in leadership ranks at other mortgage joint ventures, including Metrocities Mortgage.

MMI names Total Expert alum Kortney Lane-Schafers regional director

Mobility Market Intelligence, a provider of business intelligence and data tools for mortgage and real estate, named Kortney Lane-Schafers as a regional director of growth. In the role, she will work with MMI’s clientele to identify areas of potential growth and increase adoption. She joins the Salt Lake City-based firm after serving as director of customer engagement and experience at customer-engagement fintech Total Expert. Previously, Lane-Schafers held account-management executive roles at Top of Mind Networks and Courier Express.

Home Title Lock adds former FBI leader James Finch as advisor

Home Title Lock, a San Diego-based theft detection service, announced the appointment of James Finch as senior cybersecurity advisor. A former FBI assistant director, Finch will assist Home Title Lock in its efforts to inform consumers about how to protect themselves from title theft crimes. The company provides monitoring and fraud prevention services that deploy proprietary software to catch suspicious activity in title filings. "The FBI has identified real estate scams as a fast-growing threat to American homeowners," Finch said. "That's why we must do all we can to ensure safeguards are in place to thwart these cybercriminals and stop them in their tracks.”

Finch served at the FBI from 1984 to 2015, and actively supported the bureau as a leader throughout his career, including supervising the Houston division's first cyber squad and serving as head of its cyber division at national headquarters.