MBA, Rithm, SWBC announce leadership moves

May 16, 2025 10:58 AM

MBA promotes Brendan Kelleher, welcomes John Lammie

Brendan Kelleher

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced the promotion of Brendan Kelleher to associate vice president of government housing finance. In his newly elevated position, Kelleher will advance the Washington-based trade group's policy and regulatory advocacy priorities in federally backed residential finance, managing tracking and analysis of laws affecting the government-sponsored enterprises and private-label markets. His responsibilities will also include engagement on key MBA committees. Keller most recently worked on servicing advocacy efforts for the association as director, residential loan administration policy, joining the MBA after holding several roles at Rocket Cos.

His appointment follows the recent addition of John Lammie as associate vice president of commercial real estate finance, a role which will have him lead advocacy efforts to support MBA's multifamily and other CRE members. A banking policy veteran, Lammie comes to MBA after tenures at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Amazon.

SWBC adds Steve Remington to C-suite

SWBC Mortgage hired Steve Remington as chief operating officer. With a background across multiple origination channels, capital markets and servicing, he joins the San Antonio-based subsidiary of the SWBC financial services firm after holding the same role at regional lender Benchmark Mortgage. His prior professional experience includes positions at Texas' Beal Bank and Landmark Mortgage.

In his new role, Remington will focus on enhanced production and scalable infrastructure for SWBC. Remington is also a board member and past president of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association.

Kind Lending taps Jennifer Folk as chief operating officer

Santa Ana, California-based Kind Lending welcomed Jennifer Folk as its new chief operating officer. Folk will be responsible for daily operations and oversight of company infrastructure and service delivery. She also will play a key role in the lender's expansion of wholesale and retail channels. Folk takes on the role after recently working in fulfillment operations at Tri Pointe Connect. Previously, she held positions at Sierra Pacific Mortgage and Stearns Lending, which was also launched by Kind's founder and current CEO.

Polly appoints Jesse Decker to chief customer officer

Mortgage and capital markets fintech Polly appointed Jessie Decker as chief customer officer. In the role, Decker will work with Polly clients to maximize benefit and return on investment of the platform's product pricing engine and other tools. Decker joins the technology firm after holding similar customer-facing executive roles at the likes of Sagent, Cloudvirga and Roostify.

Selene welcomes executives Jocelyn Martin-Leano and Doug Whittemore

Left to right: Jocelyn Martin-Leano, Doug Whittemore

Mortgage subservicer and closing solutions provider Selene announced the appointment of banking and home lending veterans Jocelyn Martin-Leano and Doug Whittemore to senior executive leadership. Stepping in as chief strategy and growth officer across all Selene business lines, Whittemore takes responsibility over product development and expansion efforts, as well as oversight of client and industry relations. With experience in strategy development in both domestic and international markets, Whittemore previously held key roles at U.S. Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Cooper and Citibank.

Martin-Leano takes on the role of president of the Selene Finance unit, in charge of all business operations. Before coming to the Dallas-based firm, she held the role of president at Rushmore Loan Management, expanding its servicing operations. Her previous leadership background includes tenures at Genworth US Mortgage Insurance and Irwin Home Equity Corp.

CSBS adds CFPB alum David Bleicken in strategy role

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors named David Bleicken senior vice president of product and business strategy. Bleicken recently headed operations in the division of supervision at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he coordinated activities and rulemaking with states. In his new CSBS role, he will drive strategy development for the organization's suite of technology products that support regulatory activity, particularly its state examination tool, a key component of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.

Earlier in his career, Bleicken led regulatory supervision at the Pennsylvania department of banking. He also is a past president of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

Leaderone appoints Randell Gillespie as president

Kansas City-based Leaderone Financial recently welcomed lending veteran Randell Gillespie as president. In his leadership role, Gillespie will work alongside Leaderone officials on expansion efforts, identifying new opportunities for growth. Gillespie arrives at the company after previously holding the title of chief production officer at Lower. His mortgage career also includes senior leadership positions at Thrive Mortgage, Bank of America and Countrywide Home Loans.

Novaprime welcomes David Nielsen as chief revenue officer

Mortgage fintech Novaprime announced the hiring of industry veteran David Nielsen as chief revenue officer, a new position at the Miami-based firm. In his role, Nielsen will be tasked with developing market strategy and building and running its sales organization, coming up with new products and identifying potential revenue opportunities.

Nielsen joins Novaprime after serving in sales leadership at Dark Matter Technologies and Black Knight. Previously, he held executive roles at technology firms Complianceease, Capsilon and Corelogic.

Equity Prime welcomes Rogelio Goertzen to head new unit growth

P413 Photos

Recently launched Empower Mortgage, a nonbank lender focused on serving first-generation Americans, announced the hiring of Rogelio Goertzen as chief growth officer. A former executive at United Wholesale Mortgage, Goertzen is also the founder of the Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts.

In his role, Goertzen will aim to scale Empower's operations through new strategic partnerships, positioning the lender to capture the first-generation home buyer segment and create financial opportunities for Hispanic and other underserved populations. Empower is a fully owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Equity Prime Mortgage.

Prudent AI taps Paul Gigliotti to lead growth and expansion

Technology provider Prudent AI promoted Paul Gigliotti to chief growth officer. A veteran industry leader with expertise across mortgage lending, technology and strategy, Gigliotti will seek to expand the company's client base nationwide through oversight of revenue strategy and sales and marketing efforts. Prudent provides artificial intelligence-backed customer review software to mortgage lenders serving self-employed and other non-qualified applicants.

Gigliotti previously held senior leadership positions at Pinnacle Home Loans and West Coast Mortgage and also worked in an advisory capacity at several other companies. He is the CEO and co-founder of Axis Lending Academy, a nonprofit education platform seeking to train a new, diverse generation of mortgage professionals.

Lendem welcomes mortgage marketing leader Krish Dhokia

Data analytics and technology firm Lendem Solutions hired mortgage industry veteran Krish Dhokia as chief marketing officer. In his new role, Dhokia will lead brand management and audience engagement for the company, which uses data and machine learning to facilitate decision-making in credit and collections. With a career in marketing leadership throughout financial services, Dhokia previously held similar marketing positions at Fairway Independent Mortgage, Stearns Lending, Certainty Home Loans and most recently, Kind Lending.

Rithm Capital adds Nate Trunfio to Genesis c-suite

Southern California-based Genesis Capital, the home finance lender serving the real estate investment community, recently welcomed Nate Trunfio as chief strategy officer. In his new leadership position, Trunfio will help develop strategic initiatives and solutions alongside other senior leaders to best serve Genesis' business-purpose clients. The company is a subsidiary of Rithm Capital.

Trunfio joins the lender after holding several senior management positions in private lending, including in the C-suite at Lima One Capital. He also is a former leader at DLP Direct Lending Partners.

Northpointe welcomes warehouse lending executive Patrick Collins

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Northpointe Bank recently tapped Patrick Collins as its new senior vice president of mortgage warehouse lending. In his new role, Collins will be responsible for strategy and growth of the business. A veteran of the space, Collins joins Northpointe after holding the same title at Centier Bank. He also actively serves various committees focused on loan production and warehouse lending for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Click n’ Close adds Kim Schenck, elevates Michael Lima

Left to right: Michael Lima, Kim Schenck

Addison, Texas-based Click n' Close welcomed Kim Schenck as correspondent manager. In the role, she will be responsible for driving growth of the wholesale and correspondent lender's down payment assistance program, drawing on her background in lending, loan acquisitions and secondary marketing. She joins the company, which was previously known as Mid America Mortgage, after holding leadership roles at the likes of Essex Mortgage, Freedom Mortgage and Bank of America.

With her appointment, former managing director of correspondent lending, Michael Lima, will again take on responsibilities of leading the company's whole-loan trading business, a division he formerly headed. In the position, he will create a capital markets strategy as Click n' Close renews its presence in the whole-loan market. A member of the Click n' Close team since 2016, Lima was initially tapped to head its purchase and trading strategy in the scratch-and-dent market.

Mitchell Sandler adds mortgage servicing attorney Reid Herlihy

Washington-based law firm Mitchell Sandler recently added attorney Reid Herlihy as a servicing partner in its mortgage regulatory practice group. Herlihy comes to the firm after spending over a decade at Ballard Spahr. As partner, he will serve the firm's home lending clients, providing advisory services on state and federal regulatory compliance issues, licensing and enforcement matters.

Choice Mortgage names Brian Mozley chief growth officer

Boca Raton, Florida-based Choice Mortgage Group announced the appointment of Brian Mozley as chief growth officer. A former president of the recently acquired Financial Mortgage Solutions and a current Choice partner, Mozley will tap into his background as a broker originator and mentor to new loan officers to expand the lender's national presence. Choice is currently licensed in 18 states.

Ascribe taps Lindsey Pryor for business development role

Real estate valuation and management services provider Ascribe named Lindsey Pryor vice president, national business development manager. Pryor will be responsible for finding and building business relationships with mortgage lenders and servicers across the U.S., ensuring maximum benefit from Ascribe's tools. Before arriving at Ascribe, Pryor served in management at Bosscat Home Services, Fay Financial and Altisource Portfolio Solutions.