LoanDepot, Pennymac, Total Expert, Stewart add chief officers

October 6, 2022 6:09 PM

LoanDepot adds Gregory Smallwood, Joseph Grassi as chief officers

Left to right: Gregory Smallwood, Joseph Grassi

Lender and real estate services provider loanDepot recently announced the addition of Gregory Smallwood and Joseph Grassi to chief officer positions, as it aims to restructure operations. Gregory Smallwood was appointed chief legal officer and corporate secretary, while Joseph Grassi steps in as chief risk officer.

A compliance and regulatory expert in mortgage and financial services, Smallwood most recently served as general counsel and executive vice president at Caliber Home Loans, and previously held leadership roles at Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Saxon Mortgage. In his new role with loanDepot, Smallwood will be responsible for legal strategy while reducing risk.

Grassi will oversee loanDepot's risk management program and governance policies, staying ahead of potential challenges that might hinder company operations. Also an expert in legal compliance and risk matters, Grassi previously held mortgage-industry leadership positions within both public and private sectors, including at Fannie Mae, where he was a senior attorney in multifamily and single-family business units. Grassi has also worked at Celebrity Home Loans, Guaranteed Rate and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The moves come as the lender institutes several cutbacks, including numerous layoffs, in support of its restructuring plan called Vision 2025. The company also recently announced the elimination of its wholesale channel. "Responding to identified risks and continuing to effectively anticipate enterprise risks will be critical to position the Company for long-term growth and revenue generation," said loanDepot CEO Frank Martell.

Pennymac taps fintech leader Jerry Halbrook to lead innovation efforts

National lender and servicer PennyMac Financial Services appointed tech leader Jerry Halbrook as chief mortgage innovation officer. In the role, Halbrook will be responsible for developing and introducing new technology solutions to streamline operations and enable Pennymac to address industry changes.

Halbrook comes to Pennymac with experience helping lead both fintechs and mortgage-finance companies, including top 10 lenders, in designing and implementing new digital platforms. Most recently, Halbrook served as CEO of mortgage fintech Volly. In the second quarter, Westlake Village, California-based Pennymac earned $168 million in net income from its servicing operations and $10 million from its loan production unit.

Total Expert taps Dan Catinella as chief lending officer

Customer-relationship management platform Total Expert welcomed mortgage-industry veteran Dan Catinella as chief lending officer. Catinella most recently served as chief digital officer at Finance of America, where he became familiar with the Total Expert platform, and will be responsible for working with clients and prospects to stay abreast of lending trends that impact their business goals.

Earlier in his career, Catinella also served as director of information technology at Gateway Funding prior to its acquisition by Finance of America. In his new position, Catinella will also promote and develop innovations to improve best practices for customers of the Minneapolis-based company's platform.

Stewart names tech leader John Hamm chief information officer

Photo by Allen Kramer

Stewart Information Services Corp., provider of title insurance and other closing services for the mortgage industry, tapped technology veteran John Hamm as chief information officer. Hamm will be responsible for oversight of Stewart's technology operations, including development and strategy. He comes to the Houston-based company from Texas Children's Hospital, where, as vice president of information technology, he furthered its transition to digital for patient services. With the hospital, he managed electronic health record and electronic resource planning initiatives, as well as the integration of hundreds of applications.

In the second quarter this year, Stewart earned $61.7 million in net income, up from $57.9 million in the first three months this year.

FHFA promotes Karen Chang, Samuel Frumkin

Left to right: Karen Chang, Samuel Frumkin

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the appointment of two leaders to elevated roles within the Washington-based regulator. Karen Chang steps up to the position of chief of staff, while Samuel Frumkin was named the agency's executive secretary. The announcements come following several recent initiatives at the Washington-based agency, including the introduction of its Office of Financial Technology and a planned study of the role of the Federal Home Loan Bank system.

Chang joined the FHFA in April 2021 as supervisory financial analyst within the division of enterprise regulation office of financial analysis. With background in regulatory and government affairs through past roles at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, White House, U.S. Department of Treasury and private-sector businesses, she will continue to play a key advisory role on FHFA strategy in her new role.

Frumkin will help ensure the agency meets statutory responsibilities as executive secretary. Since arriving at the FHFA in 2014, he has served as principal advisor in both the office of the director and division of mission and housing goals. His experience also includes tenures at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and CFPB.

Cenlar adds servicing veteran Gary Gaskin as vice president

Loan subservicer Cenlar FSB, headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey, named mortgage and servicing veteran Gary Gaskin vice president of transfer services. In the role, Gaskin will lead all aspects of loan boarding and acquisitions and transfers, while exploring potential process automation improvements.

Gaskin comes to Cenlar after serving in leadership at several leading servicers, including Republic Bank, Specialized Loan Servicing, Roundpoint and Atlantic Bay Mortgage. He most recently served as first vice president of loan administration at SunTrust Mortgage. Previously he also worked as a consultant on servicing acquisitions and transfers at PwC, the brand name for Pricewaterhousecoopers.

RiskSpan welcomes Fannie Mae alum Patricia Black as chief officer

Arlington, Virginia-based technology and data analytics provider RiskSpan hired mortgage and finance veteran Patricia Black as chief client officer. Black will oversee client relationships across all of RiskSpan's market risk and pricing products. Previously chief audit executive at Fannie Mae following the 2008 financial crisis, Black's expertise encompasses enterprise risk management, compliance, regulatory requirements and corporate governance.

She also served as head of strategic initiatives and head of financial controls and SOX while at Fannie Mae. More recently, Black led operations at SoFi Home Loans, expanding partner relationships, and held the role of chief of staff at Caliber Home Loans.

Movement Mortgage names HR leader Shelley Smith chief people officer

National retail lender Movement Mortgage welcomed Shelley Smith as chief people officer. A workplace hiring and culture leader in financial services, as well as other major industries, Smith was most recently vice president and HR business partner at TIAA and also has held management roles at Fortune 500 companies, including Hyatt Hotels, PepsiCo and Bank of America.

In her role, Smith will oversee human resources operations and programs, including onboarding, talent management and reward and compensation, for the Indian Land, South Carolina lender. The company employs more than 4,000 people and is licensed in all 50 states.

Xome appoints James Curl chief technology officer

Asset management and auction platform Xome named James Curl chief technology officer. In the role, Curl will lead Xome's technology team and implement solutions to better serve clients. A digital services expert with experience in several industries, he most recently held the title of vice president of enterprise and emerging technology at T-Mobile, where he led teams of product managers and engineers in developing digital processes and tools. Prior to joining T-Mobile, he also held roles at global consultancy Deloitte in its technology strategy and architecture service area.

A fully owned subsidiary of Dallas-based servicer and lender Mr. Cooper, Xome's other units were sold off in the past year, leaving the auction platform as the lone remaining business line remaining.

BlackFin names Michael Harris partner, Rick Grant think tank chair

Left to right: Michael Harris, Rick Grant

Management-consulting firm BlackFin Group tapped Michael Harris as managing director, partner, in its mortgage-servicing practice. In the role, he will be in charge of building out the division, offering strategic advice and frameworks that will assist servicing clients. Harris has previously worked as a key executive within default servicing and asset management companies, such as Exceleras, Carrington Property Services and Stewart Asset Recovery. He was also instrumental in developing the pilot outsourced management programs for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Before joining Blackfin, Harris founded Jennick Asset Management, where he still serves as president and CEO.

The Englewood, Colorado-based firm also announced that communications consultant Rick Grant was appointed to chair its think tank, Innovation Leadership Cohort, consisting of more than 30 mortgage leaders attempting to address industry challenges. Grant is a founder and current president of RGA Public Relations, which serves leading mortgage technology firms.

Sales Boomerang, Mortgage Coach add tech exec Rich LaBarca

Digital platforms Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach, two companies which merged this summer, named Rich LaBarca chief product and technology officer. In the role, LaBarca will manage technology and product integrations of the newly combined firm's customer retention and education tools, eventually overseeing growth and maintenance of the resulting system. LaBarca has served in executive roles at technology giants, helping lead product development of Oracle Data Cloud and Microsoft's Customer Data Platform. Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach currently operate at respective headquarters in Owing Mills, Maryland, and Irvine, California, and are in the midst of rebranding.

Appraisal Logistics adds Reggora alum Keegan Doyle to marketing team

Software and compliance solutions provider Appraisal Logistics recently welcomed Keegan Doyle as director of marketing. Doyle joins the Annapolis, Maryland-based company after serving as one of the first members of the marketing team at Reggora, which similarly serves commercial and residential lending industries with appraisal management tools. In his new leadership position at Appraisal Logistics, Keegan will help lead marketing efforts and awareness surrounding AIM-Port technology. Utilized as the company operating system for over a decade, AIM-Port was released as a standalone product in 2022.

HomeGuide introduces Tim Carroll as venture president

HomeGuide Mortgage, an originations business jointly launched by CMG Financial and Remax and based in Elk Grove, California, announced the appointment of Tim Carroll as venture president. Most recently a regional manager of CMG's Western division, where he cultivated relationships with the Remax Gold network before the rollout of HomeGuide, Carroll will be in charge of recruiting loan officers and supporting them in their daily activities. He will also continue to work closely with Remax Gold agents.

Planet Home Lending taps Lynette Hale-Lee to lead Western growth

Planet Home Lending, the national lender and servicer based in Meriden, Connecticut, named Lynette Hale-Lee as Western regional manager. Hale-Lee will oversee recruitment of new loan originators and new branch openings in the Western U.S., tapping into her mortgage production background. Hale-Lee comes to Planet Home after working at several different lenders throughout her career, including most recently, Wintrust Mortgage, where she was also its Western regional manager. She previously served as president of Capstone Direct Mortgage Funding.

MonitorBase elevates Lilly Staniforth to vice president

Mortgage fintech MonitorBase, which tracks and analyzes credit eligibility and interest among potential borrowers through the use of predictive algorithms, promoted Lilly Staniforth to vice president of business relations. Staniforth joined the Murray, Utah-based company in 2019 and most recently served as client success manager. In her new position, Staniforth will build client relationships and improve brand awareness of MonitorBase, particularly its integration capabilities. She will also assist in the development of marketing content and outreach for new partnerships, while helping lender clients achieve their sales targets with MonitorBase's tools.