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Optimal Blue promotes Lanny Rogers, Jeremy Moreno to C-suite

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Left to right: Jeremy Moreno, Lanny Rogers
Capital markets platform Optimal Blue named Lanny Rogers chief financial officer. A member of the Optimal Blue team since 2017, Rogers advances to the executive role after previously helping lead its accounting division in various positions over the last eight years. As CFO, Rogers will oversee the company's financial planning and forecasting with an eye on long-term sustainability.

The Plano, Texas-based technology firm also elevated Jeremy Moreno to chief revenue officer. In the role, he will head revenue and client retention activities to promote new business opportunities and relationship growth. A veteran of Optimal Blue for more than a decade, Moreno most recently served as vice president of sales.

Onity taps Patrick Joyce to head digital products team

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Mortgage servicer and lender Onity Group recently welcomed Pennymac alum Patrick Joyce as vice president, digital products and design. In the role, he will lead a team of digital product managers and user experience designers to build artificial intelligence-backed solutions for customers. 

Joyce joins West Palm Beach, Florida-based Onity after serving as senior product manager at Pennymac Financial, focused on digital lending. Earlier in his career, he held positions at American Residential Services, Skyline Financial and Bank of America.

Better hires Barry Feierstein as chief operating officer

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Mortgage and home equity finance platform Better Home & Finance named Barry Feierstein as chief operating officer. In the role, Feierstein will oversee New York-based Better's core corporate operations to help drive alignment and efficiency throughout the company. 

Prior to joining Better, Feierstein worked under the same title for Hamilton Insurance Agency, a broker and benefits administration provider. He brings more than 30 years of experience leading and scaling operations across private and public companies in residential housing finance, small business lending, and student loan and higher education sectors.

Farmer Mac names PNC alum Matthew Pullins chief financial officer

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The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, more commonly referred to as Farmer Mac, announced the appointment of Matthew Pullins as chief financial officer and treasurer. In his new role, he will lead corporate finance activities from accounting and strategic planning to regulatory reporting for the provider of liquidity for rural infrastructure, including mortgage lending.

Originally from rural Ohio, Pullins joins Farmer Mac after sitting in senior leadership as CFO of the capital markets business at PNC Financial Services. Previously, he held similar executive roles within other divisions of the company. 

Acra Lending welcomes veteran leader Suzy Lindblom

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Non-qualified mortgage company Acra Lending added industry veteran Suzy Lindblom as managing director, national operations. In her new position, Lindblom will lead wholesale and correspondent lending operations as well as underwriting across the Irvine, California-based mortgage shop. 

A lending and underwriting expert, Lindblom most recently served as chief operating officer at Sierra Pacific Mortgage, where she led the introduction of initiatives and technologies aimed to reduce turnaround times. Lindblom's mortgage career also includes corporate leadership tenures at First Guaranty Mortgage, Kind Lending and Planet Home Financial. 

Kind Lending adds Brett Stubbs as CFO, promotes Delfino Aguilar

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Left to right: Delfino Aguilar, Brett Stubbs
National mortgage firm Kind Lending announced the appointment of Brett Stubbs and Delfino Aguilar to new roles in its C-suite. Stubbs steps up to the chief financial officer role in a planned transition, taking over from Gary Fabian, who has been in the CFO seat since Kind's founding in 2020. Stubbs has more than 25 years of financial and operational experience and joins the Irvine, California-based company after holding the same title at Kinecta Federal Credit Union.

A wholesale expert, Aguilar takes over as chief production officer, a role that further expands his leadership responsibilities to include oversight of all lending channels across the company, including retail. Aguilar has been with Kind since its launch and brings more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage and financial services industry.

Polunsky Beitel Green adds tech leader Prasad Kodibagkar

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Mortgage law firm Polunsky Beitel Green appointed industry veteran Prasad Kodibagkar as chief technology officer. A leading authority on lending and servicing technology, Kodibagkar will oversee the Texas-based law firm's automation initiatives, guiding investments in analytics and compliance tools as well as other artificial intelligence-backed solutions. 

Earlier in his career, Kodibagkar held key leadership positions at Mr. Cooper, where he boosted the capabilities of its technology infrastructure. He also served as a top tech executive at Rushmore Loan Management and Wells Fargo Home Lending as well as a private consultant.     

Lower adds Gino Fronti for dual production, AI leadership roles

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Columbus, Ohio-based national lender Lower tapped production veteran Gino Fronti as executive vice president in charge of its Western division. He will hold the title concurrently alongside his new role as vice president of product with responsibility of its loan officer artificial intelligence tool. In the dual leadership positions, Fronti will work on expanding Lower's lending footprint on the West Coast while also promoting use of LOAI, Lower's artificial intelligence suite aimed at unlocking efficiencies for loan officers. 

With experience across sales and originations, Fronti most recently held a similar divisional leadership role at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, along with prior tenures at Finance of America and Skyline Financial. He also is co-founder of Momentum Builder, a mortgage industry coaching and performance platform. 

Vesta welcomes Joe Russo as head of revenue

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Loan-origination system provider Vesta announced the hiring of technology finance and sales leader Joe Russo as head of revenue. In his new leadership role, Russo will head go-to-market strategy for the San Francisco-based mortgage technology firm as it scales growth, with responsibilities encompassing marketing, sales and account management. 

A sales leader with experience in various industries, Russo joins Vesta from insurance technology software provider Functional Finance. He previously held top leadership sales positions at mortgage technology company Ocrolus. 

Marlin Mortgage names Darren Halpern, Tyler Wichmann co-presidents

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Left to right: Darren Halpern, Tyler Wichmann
St. Petersburg, Florida-based lender and servicer Marlin Mortgage announced the promotion of Darren Halpern and Tyler Wichmann, both of whom will add the president title to their names. The two executives will jointly lead strategic initiatives to capitalize on growth, capital formation and the scaling of Marlin's mortgage-servicing rights business. Halpern and Wichmann will serve in the role concurrently with their present leadership positions.

Halpern also holds the title of chief financial officer and will be responsible for accounting and treasury activities, while also overseeing servicing operations. He previously served as chief operating officer. As Marlin's current general counsel, Wichmann will head legal operations, including deal structuring, compliance and corporate governance and lead Marlin's other affiliated businesses.

Class Valuation taps Daniel Busch for CFO

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Appraisal management company Class Valuation announced the hiring of Daniel Busch as chief financial officer. A finance executive across different industries, he most recently held the same title at Continental Services, a food-service management technology firm. Previously, Busch also headed financial operations for health and manufacturing segments. In his new position with the Troy, Michigan-based AMC, Busch will be tasked with providing guidance and direction to drive decision-making that supports Class Valuation's future growth.

Mortgage Capital Trading adds AI expert Rick Chakra

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Secondary markets services provider Mortgage Capital Trading welcomed Rick Chakra as director of AI solutions. Chakra will be responsible for overseeing the company's artificial intelligence roadmap and driving adoption of agentic AI processes to provide momentum for product development and improved efficiency. 

Chakra first began working with the San Diego-based technology platform in 2024, guiding the development of MCT's generative AI advisor Atlas. Previously, he assisted banks with artificial intelligence initiatives as a consultant at Deloitte. In addition to his new role, Chakra is an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina Charlotte's School of Data Science.

Ardri taps Wesley Olison for wholesale production leadership

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Calabasas, California-based Ardri, a non-QM and business purpose mortgage lender, appointed Wesley Olison as vice president of wholesale production. In the role, Olison will help broaden market reach, boost production and strengthen broker relationships nationwide. He will also lead development of a sales team to enable scale and steady growth. Olison has more than 20 years of mortgage and finance leadership experience.

Servicelink promotes Matt Rogina to senior vice president

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Field solutions provider Servicelink recently promoted default services expert Matt Rogina to senior vice president, sales manager. In the newly elevated position, he will help lead development of a sales team to support revenue opportunities and the expansion of the Moon Township, Pennsylvania-based company's range of default services. 

A veteran member within parent company Fidelity National Financial's family of businesses, Rogina has spent the last 15 years on Servicelink's default sales team, assisting clients with foreclosure services and other field needs.

Jet Direct welcomes return of JoAnne Soldo, Andy Thaw

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Left to right: Andy Thaw, JoAnne Soldo
Bohemia, New York-based direct lender Jet Direct Mortgage recently announced the return of JoAnne Soldo, who steps into the role of corporate sales liaison. In her new position, Soldo will work across all levels of the organization to streamline resources and enable communication that best helps the company achieve mortgage production goals. She previously served Jet Direct in a variety of roles, including as a mortgage loan officer and processor.

The announcement comes following the similar return of Andy Thaw as vice president of renovation lending earlier this fall. An authority on the Federal Housing Administration's 203(k) and other renovation loan programs, Thaw will assist borrowers with the niche loan options in an effort to expand homeownership opportunities.
Spencer Lee
Technology Reporter, National Mortgage News
Colin McNamara
Reporter, National Mortgage News
Career moves CAREER & COMPENSATION Industry News Career advancement
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