Guaranteed Rate, Geneva Financial, AAG add new leaders

April 13, 2022 7:34 PM

Guaranteed Rate adds Sanjay Gupta to C-suite

Guaranteed Rate recently welcomed former TIAA executive Sanjay Gupta as chief marketing officer and chief digital officer. In the dual role, the financial-services veteran will spearhead all marketing initiatives at the Chicago-based company, including branding, advertising, social media and public relations. Gupta also will be responsible for the proper function and development of Guaranteed Rate’s website and app in addition to increasing the reach of its consumer-direct channel. The company states that it generated more than $116 billion in volume last year

Gupta has led marketing efforts for several companies across the financial industry. At his most recent role with TIAA, he oversaw enterprise strategy, analytics and financial products as executive vice president, client solutions and outcomes. Before joining TIAA, he played a large role on marketing programs and initiatives with the likes of Bank of America, Allstate and Ally Financial.

Geneva Financial taps Kelly Singh for chief compliance officer

Chandler, Arizona-based lender Geneva Financial named Kelly Singh chief compliance officer. In her new role, Singh will oversee quality control and compliance for Geneva’s mortgage operations. The company currently has branches in 46 states. Previously in her career, Singh helped build and oversee risk and compliance efforts for businesses and startups of all sizes, including most recently, at USAA. As director of business risk and controls at USAA, she headed a team that addressed operating losses, technology oversight and risk assessment.

Gateless appoints Ellie Mae alum Joe Langner president

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Gateless, a provider of artificial intelligence-enabled tools aimed at automating the loan origination process from end to end, announced the addition of mortgage technology expert Joe Langner as its first president. In the role, Langner will tap into his strategic planning background to steer development and adoption of Gateless’ digital tools to generate revenue for the Chicago-based company.

“If you look at how much the loan process has changed over the past few decades, decision automation, especially in underwriting, is a key area where improvement is needed to drive efficiencies,” said Langner. Gateless was founded last year by Victor Ciardelli, CEO and president of Guaranteed Rate.

Langner has held several executive roles at mortgage technology firms throughout his career, including most recently as CEO at ReverseVision. Previously, he also served as CEO at cloud-based lending platform Blue Sage Solutions. As chief operating officer and chief sales officer at Ellie Mae, he helped lead its growth before the company went public in 2011. Langner’s career also includes tenures at PC Lender, Sage and Dun & Bradstreet.

Redwood Trust VC affiliate appoints Ryan McBride as full-time CIO

Mill Valley, California-based Redwood Trust, a supplier of housing credit and securitizations, announced the transition of Ryan McBride to chief investment officer of RWT Horizons, the company’s venture arm, as it seeks to deepen its involvement in technology funding. RWT Horizons invests in early-stage companies within financial and real estate realms. McBride transitions to the new position full time after dually serving as chief operating officer at Redwood’s Corevest Finance affiliate simultaneously with his role at RWT Horizons since early 2021. Corevest was acquired by Redwood Trust in 2019, and McBride has been its COO since 2014.

The move reflects the growing importance of venture-capital at Redwood. McBride will focus on the development of RWT Horizons’ investment strategy. As of March 31, RWT Horizons had made 21 investments in 18 early stage fintech and proptech startups.

AAG names Scott Slifer chief administrative officer

American Advisors Group, the nation’s leading reverse-mortgage originator with headquarters in Irvine, California, tapped former USAA executive Scott Slifer to become its chief administrative officer. Slifer will oversee AAG's national field sales, wholesale and business development organizations. In his most recent role as a USAA general manager and vice president, Slifer helped drive omnichannel user technologies to increase client satisfaction in both originations and servicing. Before joining USAA, Slifer was CEO of Sutherland's Financial Services Group, a company active in global mortgage production, fulfillment and sub-servicing. Slifer is also former president of PHH Mortgage's Private Label Solutions.

Panorama Mortgage Group adds Ryan Rathert as CFO

Panorama Mortgage Group, the Las Vegas-based parent of Alterra Home Loans, Legacy Home Loans and several other brands, named Ryan Rathert chief financial officer. As CFO, Rathert will oversee the group’s financial activities and functions, while targeting overall company strategy and growth objectives in support of its mission. “I especially admire Panorama's focus on the underserved market,” he said. I think that it is a fast-growing opportunity, and I love seeing more support and investment going into those communities."

Rathert joins Panorama from Stearns Lending, where he held several leadership positions, including most recently as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the wholesale mortgage channel. Previously, he also served as production CFO and head of private-label operations at Stearns and led or supported teams at Wells Fargo and Mr. Cooper.

Non-QM startup Champions Funding names Natalie Verrette president, COO

Champions Funding, a new community-development financial institution and non-QM wholesale lender based in Gilbert, Arizona, appointed mortgage production expert Natalie Verrette as president and chief operating officer. In the role, Verrette will push forward CDFI goals of increasing homeownership in underserved communities through the startup’s non-QM loan offerings. Champions Funding launched operations in March.

Verrette previously served in mortgage management roles at The Money Source, holding the title of executive vice president of operations/origination, and, more recently, AmeriSave, where she was senior vice president, before joining Champions Funding. Her industry experience encompasses all aspects of mortgage production operations, including development, recruiting and strategic planning.

Common Securitization Solutions names Lysette Bailey chief risk officer

Bethesda, Maryland-based Common Securitization Solutions, which manages the issuance and servicing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac uniform mortgage-backed-security and complex multiclass structures, tapped banking technology expert Lysette Bailey as chief risk officer. CSS is responsible for over 1 million securitization structures representing 30 million loans totaling more than $6 trillion dollars. Bailey will oversee the company's cloud-technology framework and capacity for risk, examining processes and systems to catch current and emerging threats.

"Now, more than ever, our ability to further enhance our risk management program to include heightened focus on cyber and information security is key," said CSS CEO Tony Renzi.

Bailey comes to CSS from Comerica, where she was senior vice president, chief operational risk and technology risk officer, in charge of ensuring the bank’s safety from fraud and other threats. She has also been responsible for technology security as a leader at several other banks and companies in finance, including Wells Fargo, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and BMO Harris Bank.

Notarize welcomes CFO Kartik Ramachandran and new VP Eddie Oddo

Left to right: Kartik Ramachandran, Eddie Oddo

Boston-based Notarize welcomed Kartik Ramachandran as chief financial officer, a new role at the company, following its recent Series D funding raise of $130 million. Ramachandran will be responsible for guiding investments to enable further growth and expansion, as it seeks to capitalize on the increase and adoption of remote-online notarization software and other digital mortgage solutions. Before joining Notarize, Ramachandran served in leadership positions at several technology firms, including Xome, Activision Blizzard and Groupon, whose initial public offering he helped lead.

The fintech also recently announced the hiring of Eddie Oddo as vice president, strategic settlement service and strategy. Oddo will lead Notarize’s business development team overseeing deployment of Notarize’s remote-online-notarization platform among title and settlement agents. Most recently an executive with First American Title, where he spent a total of 26 years, Oddo also serves as a contributor to Notarize’s product development and market strategy.

Churchill Mortgage taps Darren Shaffer to oversee technology

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Churchill Mortgage, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, appointed Darren Shaffer as chief technology officer. In his new role, Shaffer will be responsible for leading digital efforts to improve user experience for consumers, originators and staff across devices, capitalizing on existing partnerships. He will be in charge of Churchill’s enterprise technology platform and services, managing design and implementation of new systems. The company offers mortgages in 48 states and, last year, added 24 locations in the Pacific Northwest.

Shaffer has been involved in the development of over 100 enterprise systems and brings experience as a senior technology leader from a range of companies, including Wal-Mart Information Systems, Oracle, Navidec and Microsoft. Within the mortgage industry, he has served as senior vice president and chief technology officer at Cherry Creek Mortgage.

FormFree adds Eric Lapin as chief officer, Mary Costello as director

Left to right: Eric Lapin, Mary Costello

FormFree, provider of automated asset-verification software to assist lenders determine credit risk, recently appointed mortgage tech expert Eric Lapin to the position of chief strategy officer. Lapin joins the Athens, Georgia-based technology firm from Old Republic Title, where he was first vice president of corporate development, national agency services, responsible for the sourcing of new solutions and partners along with lender and agency business development. Previously, Lapin held other leadership roles at major financial services companies, including Altisource, Black Knight, First American and Credit Suisse. As chief strategy officer, Lapin will identify new growth opportunities and capital projects, oversee business initiatives and spearhead partnerships for FormFree.

The company also recently tapped Mary Costello as director of vendor management, risk and compliance. Costello comes to FormFree from Veterans United Home Loans, where she led and launched its vendor-management program along with ensuring compliance and due diligence in the lender’s relationship with partners. In her new role, Costello will manage vendor partnerships alongside other FormFree leaders and auditors in order to mitigate risk.

VantageScore adds econ, finance expert Rikard Bandebo as chief officer

VantageScore Solutions, a provider of credit data and scoring to the lending industry located in Stamford, Connecticut, announced the appointment of Rikard Badebo as executive vice president and chief product officer. Formerly chief product officer at Deloitte’s Bersin unit and chief economist at First Data, later acquired by FiServ, Bandebo brings expertise in product strategy and data analytics to the role. In his new position, Bandebo will oversee VantageScore’s product portfolio and development of the company’s credit-scoring models.

The company has recently been at the front of efforts to advocate for allowing lenders to use their score of choice in determining creditworthiness. “Advanced data analytics and machine learning technologies will drive the next chapter of innovation for the credit scoring industry,” Bandebo said.

Deephaven hires Anthony Gulotta as East Coast sales VP

Multichannel non-QM lender Deephaven Mortgage hired Anthony Gulotta as regional sales, vice president of wholesale sales. A sales veteran with past roles at Movement Mortgage, Rocket Mortgage and Figure, Gulotta will help drive growth for Deephaven’s non-QM and non-agency products on the East Coast. Gulotta’s hiring comes as the industry plans for elevated volumes in the non-QM space in 2022 and follows several recent leadership appointments for the lender, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Farmer Mac welcomes Lowell Junkins as board chair

Farmer Mac, or the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, government insurer of agriculture loans and mortgages for rural communities with head offices in Washington, D.C., announced that Lowell Junkins had been appointed chair of the company’s board of directors by President Joe Biden. From Montrose, Iowa, Junkins is a longtime businessman and political consultant.

A member of the board since 1996, Junkins previously served as chair from 2010 to 2020. He also chairs the Farmer Mac’s corporate governance committee and is a member of the board's enterprise risk committee and public policy and corporate social responsibility committee.

Cherry Creek adds new leaders Joe Mowery, Paul Yarborough

Left to right: Joe Mowery, Paul Yarborough

Cherry Creek Holdings, parent company of Cherry Creek Mortgage, announced the appointment of Joe Mowery as managing director of affiliate Found It Settlement Services. Mowery recently managed title and settlement operations across North America for Voxtur Analytics as a division president. His background in title and settlement services includes a tenure at Title365, where he led many successful strategic growth initiatives as president. He has also held executive positions at Lenders First Choice, First American Lenders Advantage and LenderLive Settlement Services. As managing director, Mowery will be entrusted helping create a streamlined and easy closing experience for clients.

The company also named Paul Yarborough vice president of IT operations at Cherry Creek Mortgage. Yarborough will be in charge of technology strategy and budget, as well as data security and risk management for the Denver-based lender, keeping abreast of new technology to ensure company infrastructure and networks operate at their peak. He will also support Cherry Creek’s cybersecurity and mobile-technology efforts. Yarborough brings expertise in information-technology management, most recently serving as director of Sitel Group, a customer service and technical support firm.