Wells Fargo, Rate, Fairway, Lower make leadership moves

July 3, 2024 10:39 AM

Rate welcomes return of Chris Knapp to joint venture business

The company formerly known as Guaranteed Rate announced the return of former executive Chris Knapp as president of its joint venture with real estate brokerage @properties. A mortgage sales veteran who previously spent 11 years with the Chicago-based national lender, Knapp steps in as the leader of Proper Rate, in charge of serving clients of @properties' real estate agents, and tapping into his experience in strategic planning and operational management.

Knapp comes back to the Rate family after recently serving as executive vice president of business development at Draper & Kramer Mortgage. He also previously held a key leadership role at CrossCountry Mortgage.

Wells Fargo appoints Sandra Ho to lead sales role

Wells Fargo Home Lending, the Des Moines, Iowa-based mortgage unit of the banking giant, recently tapped banking veteran Sandra Ho for the newly created position of head of sales. In the role, she will oversee the consolidated consumer direct and distributed sales organizations. Ho comes to Wells Fargo from JPMorgan Chase, where she served in several leadership roles, including most recently as managing director in Chase's consumer and small business payments division. Earlier in her financial services career, Ho held positions at the likes of Innovatus Capital Partners, McKinsey and Co. and Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry.

USMI names Rohit Gupta as board chair for second time

U.S. Mortgage Insurers, the Washington-based trade association, appointed longtime industry executive Rohit Gupta as chairman of the board. Gupta returns to the chairmanship for a second time, previously serving in the position from 2014 to 2016. Gupta currently holds president, CEO and director titles at mortgage insurer Enact. Before stepping into his current position, the industry veteran held various roles at Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp., including chief commercial officer.

Lower welcomes Craig Montgomery as chief strategy officer

Columbus, Ohio-based Lower added former CrossCountry Mortgage executive Craig Montgomery as chief strategy officer. Montgomery joins Lower after spending the past several years as chief production officer at CrossCountry, and previously, director of branch operations.

In his new role with Lower, Montgomery will be responsible for retail strategy and expanding the company's technology platform to help the performance of originations teams. His appointment comes as the company sets a goal of becoming a top five lender and follows its acquisition of Thrive Mortgage in late 2023.

Xactus taps Joseph Peterson for chief financial officer

Verification services provider Xactus announced the appointment of Joseph Peterson to chief financial officer. Peterson comes to the Broomall, Pennsylvania-based firm after recently holding the same position with leading servicer Sagent and will be responsible for all financial operations at Xactus, including development of policy and procedures, accounting functions and risk management and internal and external reporting.

Previously, Peterson held the CFO position at a variety of businesses, including National Response Corp. as well as a global technology unit at American Express.

Incenter promotes Sara Parrish to COO, Shelley Duffy to EVP

Left to right: Sara Parrish, Shelley Duffy

Philadelphia-based Incenter Lender Services, provider of various solutions for mortgage banking and other financial institutions, promoted Sara Parrish to chief operating officer. Parrish will work with Incenter leadership as it aims for further strategic expansion, with the company planning to grow its client base of national and regional financial institutions. She will hold the COO role concurrently with her position as president of Incenter's student-loan origination subsidiary, Campusdoor, which she joined in 2016.

Incenter also recently elevated Shelley Duffy to executive vice president of national sales. In her new position, Duffy will be responsible for growing Incenter's enterprise business development operations across all lines of business. Before Incenter, she held enterprise sales roles at Computershare Loan Services and Radian.

Fairway Ignite names Carrie Guarrero president

Fairway Independent Mortgage recently promoted Carrie Guarrero to president of its coaching platform, Ignite. A former leader of her own independent coaching firm as well as a loan officer, Guarrero later joined Fairway Ignite as an executive teammate in 2015 and helped build the platform through coaching, curriculum development and operational management and strategy expertise. In her elevated role, Guarrero will continue refining education programs, while mentoring staff and providing coaching to Fairway's executives and top producers. The company's dual headquarters are located in Madison, Wisconsin, and Carrollton, Texas.

Carrington elevates Brett Wilbur to chief information officer

Mortgage and real estate services provider The Carrington Cos. promoted Brett Wilbur to executive vice president and chief information officer. In the position, he will be in charge of information technology and infrastructure across all of Carrington's businesses, staying abreast of quickly evolving developments in the digital and data science space.

Wilbur first joined the Anaheim, California-based business in 2006 as associate director of Carrington Capital Management, holding several different roles involving technology and data management while the company branched into mortgage and real estate sectors. His promotion also comes following the appointment of Andrew Taffet to CEO earlier this year.

Amherst adds risk management expert Paul Nicholson

Austin, Texas- and New York-based real estate investment platform Amherst Group welcomed the return of risk and capital markets leader Paul Nicholson. In the newly created position of deputy chief investment officer, Nicholson will work alongside Amherst leadership to plan and maximize decision-making strategies and spearhead capital planning and risk management efforts, while overseeing the firm's mortgage-backed securities business.

Nicholson originally joined the company in 2004 as co-head of the MBS trading desk and was instrumental in completion of its merger with Pierpont, later rising to chief risk officer. More recently, he held the chief risk officer title at Santander US Capital Markets, following the bank's acquisition of Amherst Pierpont in 2022.

NFM Lending promotes LaTasha Waddy to chief legal officer

Linthicum, Maryland-based NFM Lending elevated attorney Latasha Waddy to executive vice president and chief legal officer. A critical member of the NFM executive team since 2012, she previously worked as general counsel and chief compliance officer. In those positions, she was instrumental in guiding the lender through complex legal situations.

In her new leadership role, Waddy will continue to oversee the company's legal and compliance functions while also working to enhance strategic initiatives.

Nations Reliable Lending welcomes Steven Curtis as chief production officer

Houston-based Nations Reliable Lending Mortgage brought on Steven Curtis as its chief production officer. An expert in all facets of loan production, Curtis previously served as senior vice president for Security National and Fairway Independent Mortgage. At NRL, Curtis will spearhead the company's production strategy setting sights on improving customer experience and enhancing the loan origination process.

Dovenmuehle names Aaron Belovsky chief data officer, promotes biz dev leaders

Left to right: Anna Krogh, Aaron Belovsky, Chris Torres

Loan subservicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage recently announced the hiring of software engineering specialist Aaron Belovsky as chief data officer. Prior to joining the subservicer, he was the engineering manager at game developer Pixelberry Studios. Belovsky also held various technology leadership positions at companies across the business spectrum, including in healthcare, software consulting, hospitality and government. In his new role at Dovenmuehle, Belovsky will oversee data governance and engineering and machine-learning strategy.

The Lake Zurich, Illinois-based company also recently elevated two members of its business development team. Anna Krogh ascends to senior vice president and director of business development. Krogh first joined the subservicer in 2022 and will be responsible for building and maintaining client relationships. Dovemuehle, likewise, promoted Chris Torres to vice president of business development and manager of the Western region. After joining the company's technology research team in 2021, Torres later transitioned to business development, in charge of expanding Dovenmuehle's client base.

MyCUmortgage appoints Ben Rempe as president

MyCUmortgage, a credit union service organization based in Beavercreek, Ohio, tapped Ben Rempe for the role of president. With a career background serving credit unions, Rempe will be responsible for the performance of products offered in the CUSO's mortgage solutions suite, which covers all aspects of the lending process and serves approximately 200 institutions nationwide. MyCUmortgage is fully owned by Wright-Patt Credit Union.

In his most recent role, Rempe served as senior vice president of credit unions at the National Cooperative Bank and previously also held key mortgage positions at fintech Lenderclose and TMG Financial Solutions.

Point adds Alex de Calice to head capital formation

Home equity investment platform Point recently named Paride "Alex" de Calice as head of capital formation. De Calice will head capital raising initiatives for the Palo Alto, California-based fintech, responsible for finding and developing partnerships with institutional investors to sustain growth of Point's secondary market HEI assets.

Before joining Point, de Calice served as president of Tacora Capital, and also held key business development and investment leadership roles at Pagaya Technologies. Additionally, he is a co-founder of hedge fund Nara Capital, with prior experience at Structured Product Management and Drake Management.

Greystone welcomes LIHTC experts Michael Boyle, Jay Reed

Left to right: Jay Reed, Michael Boyle

Greystone Real Estate Capital, the low-income housing tax credit platform subsidiary belonging to the commercial real estate finance business of the same name, recently added two LIHTC specialists to support growth of the unit. The New York-based company welcomed Michael Boyle as senior vice president, acquisitions and institutional investments. He previously served in a similar role at CREA, responsible for identifying and structuring LIHTC multifamily investment opportunities around the country, as well as at Raymond James.

The New York-based real estate finance firm also hired Jay Reed as assistant vice president, tax credit underwriter. In the role, Reed will be responsible for underwriting, conducting financial modeling and closing of LIHTC transactions. Reed comes to Greystone after previously holding a similar position at PNC Bank, where he helped manage underwriting and contributed to decision making surrounding affordable housing investments involving LIHTC and historic tax credits.

Lereta elevates Mitch Bledsoe to chief technology officer

Pomona, California-based Lereta, provider of real estate tax and flood data to servicers, promoted Mitch Bledsoe to chief technology officer. Most recently, he served as the firm's senior vice president of enterprise technology, and in his new role, Bledsoe will oversee all developments behind new innovation and design, as well as infrastructure management. Prior to joining Lereta in 2022, Bledsoe served in key technology and software development roles at a range of businesses, including Assurant Specialty Property, Corelogic, First American and Autozone.

Embrace Home Loans promotes Greg Dalgarno to director of builder services

National mortgage lender Embrace Home Loans promoted Greg Dalgarno from sales manager to director of builder services. Dalgarno will spearhead growth of the Middletown, Rhode Island-based company's new construction home lending business throughout the East Coast through partnerships with homebuilders and recruitment of up to 20 loan officers specialists over the next year. The company has expanded its builder business by an estimated 30% in the past 12 months.

Dalgarno brings more than 20 years of mortgage experience, previously serving stints as a top-producing originator and sales manager at Guaranteed Rate and Wells Fargo.

First Farmers hires Teresa Matthews as secondary markets leader

Columbia, Tennessee-based First Farmers and Merchants Bank tapped Teresa Matthews as its secondary mortgage operations manager. In her new role, Matthews will help the bank meet strategic objectives, drawing into knowledge of mortgage risk management and quality assurance procedures.

Before joining First Farmers, Matthews served as senior vice president and mortgage operations manager at Lineage Bank, responsible for all aspects of its home lending unit, from originations to secondary marketing. Earlier in her career, she worked in mortgage and capital markets operations at Franklin Synergy Bank, Cumberland Bank, and Franklin Financial Mortgage.

Orlando Credit Union welcomes Joseph Torres as residential lending sales manager

Orlando Credit Union added Joseph Torres to its team as new residential lending sales manager. Torres will spearhead lending operations at the Florida-based institution, with the aim of enhancing members' borrowing experience and driving business growth. Torres has a successful track record in the finance industry, with previous experience at various Florida mortgage lenders and Bank of America.

WFG appoints Dan Hassen, Bette Rivera-May to senior VP roles

Left to right: Bette Rivera-LeMay, Dan Hassen

Real estate settlement services firm WFG National Title Insurance Co. added two real estate veterans as senior vice presidents to support sales and operations. The Portland, Oregon-based company named Dan Hassen senior vice president and Southwest regional manager for WFG's agency operations. In the role, Hassen will be responsible for meeting the agency division's business objectives in the Southwestern U.S., adding title agents and helping them best make use of WFG resources.

WFG also names Bette Rivera-LeMay as its senior vice president, sales and strategic growth for North Texas. Rivera-LeMay will be tasked with recruitment and training of new sales and escrow staff, as well as leaders, within the North Texas region. She will also help expand WFG's network in her territory by opening new locations.