Impac, Equity Solutions, Cherry Creek make C-suite hires

May 28, 2021 5:00 AM

Equity Solutions taps Michael Kirk as its new CEO

Residential real estate valuator Equity Solutions USA has appointed Michael Kirk as its new CEO, succeeding Hugo Garofalo, who was promoted to chairman of the board. Kirk recently served as senior vice president, strategic valuation initiatives, for the Accurate Group, where he worked on modernizing the appraisal process. Equity Solutions, with headquarters in West Bloomfield, Michigan, has licensed appraisers in all 50 states.

"Equity Solutions is growing exponentially, and with Michael's experience, vision, and perspective on the state of the market, we'll be able to scale our company to meet the demands of a post-pandemic housing market," said Garafolo.

Cherry Creek names David Arnett chief marketing officer

Denver-based lender Cherry Creek Mortgage has promoted David Arnett from vice president of marketing to chief marketing officer. Arnett previously served as the company’s creative director after joining Cherry Creek five years ago. Earlier in his tenure, Arnett launched a branding campaign for the company and added 16 family brands, prioritizing SEO efforts and social media presence.

“As we expand the Cherry Creek Mortgage footprint nationwide, we are also driving business through cutting-edge lead-generating initiatives,” Arnett said. “My goal in leadership is to create a culture of positivity, transparency, hard work and innovation with an emphasis on the importance of collaboration, individuality, attention to detail and professional growth.”

Impac appoints Obi Nwokorie to chief investment officer

Impac Mortgage Holdings, based in Irvine, California, has named Obi Nwokorie as chief investment officer and executive vice president, alternative credit products. Nwokorie comes to Impac from Seer Capital Management, where he oversaw whole-loan acquisition and securitization of nonqualified mortgages, non-performing loans and fix-and-flip mortgages, and previously held leadership roles at Credit Suisse Securities and UBS Securities. Recently, Impac has shifted more of its focus to non-QM opportunities.

“Obi delivers a level of sophistication and precision to the disciplines necessary to price and manage risk across our expanding product offerings and origination channels,” said Impac Mortgage Holdings’s CEO George A. Mangiaracina. “The company intends to reengage in securitization and asset-management activities and welcomes Obi as a leader to drive these initiatives.”

MBA names Alden Knowlton, Rachel Kelley associate vice presidents

The Mortgage Bankers Association, headquartered in Washington, has appointed Alden Knowlton associate vice president of legislative affairs. In the role, she will pursue the MBA's legislative goals primarily among Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Knowlton previously held the position of associate vice president of political affairs, helping manage MORPAC, MBA’s political action committee, and the Mortgage Action Alliance, the association’s grassroots network. While helping lead the MAA, communications from industry members to Congress increased tenfold over the last two years.

“Utilizing her established relationships on Capitol Hill, I am confident that Alden will continue to advocate successfully on behalf of our industry,” said Robert D. Broeksmit, MBA’s president and CEO.

Succeeding Knowlton in her previous position will be Rachel Kelley, who will oversee the efforts of MORPAC, MAA and other advocacy initiatives. Before joining the MBA, Kelley worked in a fundraising and advocacy capacity at several political and business organizations, including serving as finance director for the Republican national convention host committee and as political manager and fundraising manager with the International Council of Shopping Centers and the National Association of Home Builders.

“Having known Rachel for many years, I am confident she is the right person to step into this key role at a critical time for our industry,” said Bill Killmer, MBA’s chief lobbyist and senior vice president of legislative and political affairs. “We look forward to the fresh perspective she will bring to our advocacy programs at MBA.”

Bravo Capital brings on underwriting expert Ernest Benjamin, Jr.

New York City-based Bravo Capital, a direct HUD lender, has named Ernest Benjamin, Jr. as its chief credit officer and FHA chief underwriter. He will oversee Bravo Capital’s HUD financing underwriting and credit approval departments. Benjamin was previously chief underwriter and senior vice president at Walker & Dunlop, where he was in charge of the underwriting and due-diligence process for FHA/HUD-insured multifamily and healthcare loans. With more than 20 years in underwriting, Benjamin also has worked at Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage and Wachovia Multifamily Capital.

“I look forward to further enhancing Bravo’s underwriting and credit operations,” Benjamin said. “Bravo also provides an opportunity to broaden the scope and reach of capital to historically underserved communities.”

First American Financial promotes Kenneth DeGiorgio to president

First American Financial Corporation, a title insurance and settlement provider, announced the appointment of Kenneth DeGiorgio to president. DeGiorgio has been with the Santa Ana, California-based company since 1999 and most recently served as executive vice president, a role in which he oversaw several operational functions, including mergers and acquisitions, compliance and enterprise risk management. He also helped lead First American Financial’s banking operations and international division.

In his new position, DeGiorgio will be in charge of the company’s title insurance, specialty insurance and data and analytics businesses.

Newmark hires Sridhar Potineni, promotes Richard Holden

L-R: Richard Holden, Sridhar Potineni

Newmark Group, Inc., a provider of commercial real estate services headquartered in New York City, has appointed Sridhar Potineni as chief information officer to lead the company’s technology platforms and digital initiatives. Potineni previously held the position of global chief technology officer at JLL Capital Markets, where he developed tools and strategies and launched products to improve data insights and automation.

“There is an opportunity to accelerate data and digital ambitions using technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, IoT, data, and Blockchain,” said Potineni. “I'm excited to take on this role to ensure Newmark's platform remains at the forefront of global innovation throughout the industry."

The company also announced that Richard Holden has been promoted to president of its property management business. Holden’s focus will be on increasing operational and service efficiencies in Newmark’s commercial assets. He previously served as an executive vice president and co-head of property management, and, before joining Newmark in 2019, he held positions at the consulting firm Davis Partners and Woodmont Real Estate Services.

"There has continued to be solid growth in Newmark's property-management business, which is an integral part of our investor service platform along with capital markets and agency leasing," said Luis Alvarado, Newmark’s chief revenue officer and east-region market leader.

Nations Lending brings on Cindy Levorah to enter New Mexico market

Loan originator Nations Lending, based in Independence, Ohio, announced the hiring of Cindy Levorah to lead its Santa Fe branch, its first office in New Mexico. A 12-year resident of Santa Fe, Levorah previously held mortgage banking roles at Homeowners Financial Group and Wells Fargo. She will primarily serve clients with unique financing requirements, such as self-employed buyers, in her new position at Nations Lending. Nations Lending has recently opened several new branches across the U.S. and expects to nearly double its annual loan volume in 2021.

"Cindy's already the best at what she does," said Randy Koerner, divisional sales manager at Nations Lending. "She's on track to close more than $100 million this year alone.”

Freddie Mac Multifamily promotes Jason Griest to vice president

Freddie Mac Multifamily, based in McLean, Virginia, has named Jason Griest vice president of multifamily securitization. His responsibilities will include managing the multifamily-loan pipeline and credit-risk transfer executions, including K-Deals, SB-Deals, ML-Deals, Re-REMICs and PC REMICs. Freddie Mac securitizes approximately 90% of the multifamily loans it purchases,

Griest joined Freddie Mac Multifamily in 2013 after previous capital-markets and securitization roles at Fannie Mae, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, and played a key role in developing new Freddie Mac credit-risk transfer products, such as SOFR bonds and impact offerings.

Ross Mortgage hires Sheri Crump as lending vice president

Residential lender Ross Mortgage Corporation, which operates in 14 eastern states, has named Sheri Crump vice president of mortgage lending operations. An industry veteran for 28 years, Crump was director of mortgage operations at Chemical Bank before joining Ross Mortgage, headquartered in Troy, Michigan. Crump has backgrounds in disclosure, processing, underwriting, closing and quality-control aspects of the mortgage business.

She will oversee the company’s lending activities, evaluating processes to increase efficiency and lower costs, and work with Ross Mortgage’s operations team as well as other divisions across the company to maintain quality control.

Grandbridge adds William Hanley, Ken Charbauski to handle loan originations

L-R: William T. Hanley, Ken Charbauski

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a commercial loan originator and servicer based in Charlotte, has named William Hanley as vice president on its originations team in Houston. Hanley comes with more than a decade of experience working on different sides of commercial real estate, including as a loan originator and analyst. He previously worked at Northmarq Capital. His originations run across property types, including multifamily, retail, office, self-storage, industrial and hospitality.

“His experience with sourcing equity investment for acquisition and development opportunities will be an asset to the team,” said Grandbridge senior vice president and Houston office co-manager Greg Young

Grandbridge also announced that Ken Charbauski has been hired as a mortgage loan officer in its Tampa branch to handle FHA/HUD originations. Charbauski has been in the commercial real estate industry for over 15 years, primarily as a senior FHA loan originator. He also served as an FHA underwriter for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Planet Home Lending hires talent acquisition veteran Brian Miller

Loan originator and servicer Planet Home Lending has named Brian Miller as its senior vice president, talent acquisition. Miller comes to Planet Home from Caliber Home Loans, where he was senior vice president, strategic growth, and has also worked in a talent-acquisition capacity at PrimeLending, Stearns Lending, MetLife Home Loans and Bank of America. The addition to Planet Home’s human resources department comes on the heels of a large number of new hires in the past year.

“Planet grew its staff by 40% over the past 12 months as origination volumes doubled and the servicing portfolio nearly doubled,” said chief human resources officer Ben Hughes. “We anticipate continued expansion in those channels as well as growth in new markets in the year ahead.”

Covius Holdings brings on Yancy Riggs as vice president at RealtyBid

Denver-based Covius Holdings, a technology-solutions provider for the financial services industry, announced the hiring of Yancy Riggs as vice president of business development, asset management, auction and REO at its RealtyBid unit. In his new role, Riggs will work with RealtyBid’s leading servicers to help them efficiently manage and liquidate REO inventory. He joins Covius from CoreLogic, where he was a principal of business development, and also has worked as an account manager at Black Knight.

“RealtyBid’s compelling innovation in data and analytics is reflected in increased investor site traffic. Similarly, these differentiators driving investor activity are being noticed by servicers as they prepare for an increase in inventory post-forbearance,” said Chris Link, senior vice president, RealtyBid. “Yancy’s proven consultative sales skills and experience working with large servicers will expand RealtyBid’s presence in the auction space.”