Wyndham Capital, Planet Home Lending, Spruce announce leadership hires

August 27, 2021 11:28 AM

Wyndham Capital hires Karen Mayfield to lead retail expansion

Charlotte-based Wyndham Capital Mortgage announced a move into retail lending, tapping industry veteran and former Citi executive Karen Mayfield to oversee the new division. Mayfield will be the head of national retail sales, in charge of Wyndham’s nationwide growth in retail lending that capitalizes on the company’s digital capabilities. Mayfield has held leadership roles at Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of the West before joining Citi, where she was a division lending executive for the past seven years.

Mayfield’s hiring follows Wyndham’s recent unveiling of its marketing operating system called Wildfire, designed to assist loan officers grow their presence, increase leads and build relationships with real estate agents. “Wildfire changes the game for all loan officers and gives them the automated and self-service tools they crave,” Mayfield said.

Planet Home promotes Samantha Manfer to head business development

Nationwide lender and servicer Planet Home Lending announced the appointment of Samantha Manfer as chief business development and brand officer. Manfer joined Planet Home Lending in 2013, working across the organization to increase its offerings, which now include niche residential products and commercial asset management. She also was key to Planet Home Lending’s defensive recapture refinancing efforts in its retail retention division and helped develop a monetization engine serving private clients’ investment needs. Before coming to Planet Home, Manfer held roles at Prospect Mortgage, Ameripath Mortgage Company, National City Bank and PCFS Solutions.

“Planet Home Lending has significant expansion plans for 2021 and beyond. Leveraging our brand is an essential part of those endeavors,” Manfer said. Based in Meriden, Connecticut, Planet Home Lending reported total origination volume of $6.8 billion in the second quarter this year.

Gateless taps former Freddie Mac tech executive Rick Lang as COO

Mortgage-technology firm, Gateless, announced the appointment of Rick Lang as its first chief operating officer. Lang will be responsible for the development and adoption of the Chicago-based company’s

artificial intelligence

products and also lead its new integration and business transformation consulting services. Lang has held roles at AEGON, Prudential, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and most recently, Freddie Mac, where he led the integration of its origination-based technology solutions.

“Gateless is focused on using AI technology to automate the underwriting of a loan to create a seamless, intuitive, real-time experience for the customer. Adding Rick to the executive team does exactly that,” said Gateless chairman Victor Ciardelli. The company was launched in March with the goal of eliminating underwriting limitations, and so far, its services have been to close more than 500,000 loans.

Waterstone Mortgage appoints Rich Harkwell as chief sales officer

National retail lender

Waterstone Mortgage

announced the appointment of financial-services veteran Rich Harkwell as chief sales officer. Harkwell has held senior roles at Norwest and Citicorp and was also one of the leading players behind the development of private-label mortgage-lending platform Nexstar Financial. More recently, he led the launch of a mortgage-lending operation for LoanSnap — a fintech startup, which received backing from

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group

and other leading venture capital investors. In his new position, Harkwell will oversee the strategic sales growth of Waterstone, focused on digital solutions, and guide sales teams across the country.

“Waterstone Mortgage’s focus on developing proprietary mortgage technology, as well as their dedication to implementing the best solutions for their customers, were key indicators that this was the right opportunity for me,” Harkwell said. Based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Waterstone Mortgage is licensed in 48 states and generated $4.8 billion in loan originations last year.

Boston Title hires Wendi Thom to help lead business development

Boston National Title Agency, based in Charlotte, appointed

title services

expert Wendi Thom senior vice president of business development in its national commercial services division. Thom previously served as vice president of business development with Stewart Title in San Francisco, and has experience in title insurance, sales and account management and real estate. Boston National Title’s commercial services team works on large, complex, multi-property and multi-state transactions, with seven underwriter partners.

Spruce adds executives Brittany Murphy, Debra Hochman, Susan King

Left to right: Brittany Murphy, Debra Hochman, Susan King

Proptech firm Spruce, the

recipient of $60 million

in Series C funding this summer, announced the hiring of three executives, as it continues its expansion. After doubling its staff last year, New York-based Spruce plans to grow at the same pace in 2021 and currently employs 300 people on a full-time basis.

The provider of title insurance, closing, escrow and recording services digital tools appointed Brittany Murphy as its head of data science, Debra Hochman head of title solutions and Susan King enterprise account executive.

"These key hires will play critical roles in ensuring we continue to bring our innovative clients the utmost transparency, flexibility, and simplicity — enabling them to meet their ambitious growth goals,” said Spruce co-founder and CEO Patrick Burns.

Before joining Spruce, Murphy headed research for real estate data and analytics firm HouseCanary and also served as lead data scientist at Allstate Insurance. As head of data science, she will be in charge of risk optimization models and underwriting algorithms, that will lead to the development of new automated tools.

A veteran in title services with previous roles at First American Title, AmTrust Title and TitleWave Real Estate Solutions, Hochman will be responsible for delivering Spruce’s title solutions nationwide. King, who is a former vice president and regional manager of correspondent lending at Texas Capital Bank and also held roles at Fidelity National Title and Stonegate Mortgage, will oversee Spruce’s expansion efforts in the Western U.S.

Greystone appoints David King to lead special servicing operations

New York-based real estate financier Greystone announced the hiring of David King as managing director within its special servicing group. King joins Greystone from CWCapital Asset Management, where he was senior vice president and head of commercial real estate credit and underwriting. Previously, he was an associate at Stoltz Real Estate Partners.

Greystone’s special servicing unit aims to resolve outstanding debt issues and stabilize assets for the long term. The division currently manages a portfolio totaling $21.1 billion.

“David’s expertise will be invaluable to the growth of our special servicing capabilities, which have expanded incredibly fast over the past 18 months,” said Rob Russell, president of special servicing. “As a complementary addition to Greystone’s CMBS and other lending platforms, we are building a solution-oriented offering for clients no matter where the market may take their assets.”

Incenter Mortgage Advisors names Andy Beggins analytics director

Denver-based

Incenter

Mortgage Advisors, a firm providing capital markets and trading guidance, hired Andy Beggins as director, analytics, a newly created role at the company. In the position, Beggins will be responsible for the firm’s electronic MSR-trading platform and draw upon his experience with modeling and analytics to optimize pricing of co-issue transactions.

Beggins comes to the company from Specialized Loan Servicing, where he held the title of vice president, strategic analytics — forecast modeling, pricing, structuring and business development for the past 13 years. Before joining the loan industry, Beggins provided analytics expertise for natural gas commodity traders.

“Andy’s experience is especially valuable to our industry right now, as margins compress and aggregators become more competitive to agency and Ginnie co-issue execution,” said Tom Piercy, managing director at IMA and president, national enterprise business development of its Incenter unit. “Our eMSR platform provides sellers real-time insights into multiple investors’ pricing trends.”

JLL Capital taps Melissa Quinn, Lee Weaver to co-lead Florida offices

Left to right: Melissa Quinn, Lee Weaver

Chicago-based JLL Capital Markets grew its Florida team with the appointment of new co-leaders in local markets. Melissa Quinn and Lee Weaver both join the company as senior managing directors. Quinn will serve as a co-leader of JLL’s Orlando location, while Weaver will co-lead its Tampa office. Both will oversee debt and equity platforms of their offices. Previously Quinn and Weaver served as managing directors at NorthMarq.

A specialist in multihousing, Quinn has been a leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac producer in her 17-year career, applying her expertise in debt origination, joint venture equity and structured finance.

Weaver has originated commercial real estate loans of up to $200 million with lending sources from life insurance companies and pension funds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

IL Group promotes Angelo Adams, Kevrin Blessing to senior VP roles

Left to right: Kevrin Blessing, Angelo Adams

IL Group, provider of insurance, mortgage and cybersecurity services along with real estate sales, promoted Angelo Adams and Kevrin Blessing to senior vice president roles and members of the management team. Adams will be responsible for the company’s sales efforts for all product lines, excluding real estate, while Blessing will continue leading IL Group’s service team.

Adams oversees the marketing of insurance products to financial institutions and servicers, in addition to managing sales operations at IL Group. Before joining the Gulf Shores, Alabama-based firm in 2014, he held management positions at BBVA Compass Bank, RBC Bank and Wells Fargo Financial.

Blessing will develop methods and tools to better serve clients. He previously served as IL Group’s national client relations manager and also held roles at Assurant, AmTrustBank and Huntington Mortgage Company before moving to IL Group in 2015.

Stewart Title names Chas Smith Alabama state counsel

Houston-based Stewart Title appointed Chas Smith state counsel in Alabama, as it seeks to expand its footprint in the Southern U.S. In addition to performing his duties as state counsel, Smith will also serve as underwriting counsel in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, providing underwriting support and education to agents in those states. Before joining Stewart, Smith was vice president and agency manager at Old Republic Title and brings years of experience in both legal and real estate matters.

Smith’s hiring is the latest in a series of

personnel announcements

coming out of Stewart this summer. “As we continue to grow our presence in the South, the addition of Chas to the Stewart team brings us closer to our mission of becoming the premier title services company,” said Jay Reed, senior vice president and Southeast states district agency manager.

Cherry Creek promotes Brian Carlsen to risk management vice president

Denver-based Cherry Creek Mortgage appointed Brian Carlsen to vice president of risk management, promoting him from the position of senior credit policy manager. During his time at Cherry Creek, Carlsen helped open Cherry Creek’s Pacific Northwest wholesale division and provided support to the company’s compliance department. Carlsen joined Cherry Creek in 2013. In the new position he will help lead continued growth of Cherry Creek Mortgage, particularly its new Found It Home Loans unit, while introducing risk-control initiatives.

“Brian’s background and holistic understanding of our business makes him extremely well suited for his new position in oversight of our risk management team,” said Rick Seehausen, Cherry Creek Mortgage’s president and chief operating officer.

Deephaven names Mack Walker director of capital markets

Non-QM credit provider

Deephaven

promoted Mack Walker to senior vice president, director of capital markets. Walker joined the Charlotte-based company in 2015 and most recently served as vice president, capital markets. His new responsibilities will include product development and the delivery of non-QM assets into the secondary market in order to drive profitability of Deephaven’s sourcing channels.

“There is a sense at Deephaven that the non-QM market, and broader non-agency market as a whole, are poised for a transformation, and it’s gratifying to influence the changes ahead,” Walker said.

ChainLogix hires Guadalupe Garcia as national sales executive

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based ChainLogix Mortgage Solutions, a provider of digital products for title insurance, settlement, and lending industries, appointed Guadalupe Garcia as national sales executive, building its presence in the Western U.S. She will be responsible for developing ChainLogix’s title services, including search, tax report, post-closing and recording. Recently, she served as business development manager at SYNRGO, a provider of real estate document and post-closing services. Garcia began her career in the mortgage division of CashCall and also worked at QualityAnalytics.io.

“Guadalupe comes to our team with a strong background in electronic recording integrations with counties, which complements our electronic recording solutions,” said Tim Moreland, ChainLogix senior vice president, operations and business development.

Crowd Lending adds Kattia Ira as originator

Real estate investment firm and private lender Crowd Lending announced the hiring of Kattia Ira as an originator. The Boston-based regional direct lender sources, underwrites, funds and services commercial real estate loans, linking investors with real estate developers through its lending platform. A licensed agent at Century 21 Northeast, Ira comes to Crowd Lending versed in property investments and the house-flipping process and regularly advises clients about their real estate projects.

Appraisal Institute elects Sandra Adomatis vice president

The nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, the Appraisal Institute, recently announced the election of Sandra Adomatis as vice president. Her one-year term will begin in January followed by a year each as president-elect and president.

An appraiser and consultant, Adomatis runs Adomatis Appraisal Service in Punta Gorda, Florida. She also regularly teaches and develops appraisal seminars and courses and authored the book “Residential Green Valuation Tools.” Adomatis has advised several agencies and organizations and currently is working on the adoption of residential green and energy-efficient initiatives in Canada.

Cushman & Wakefield adds Angela Sun to board of directors

Photo by Marc Scrivo

Global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield announced the appointment of experienced executive Angela Sun to its board. She will begin her tenure in November. Sun is currently partner at digital health company Rise Health Group and previously held the role of chief operating officer and partner at Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Alpha Edison. Sun also spent a decade at Bloomberg, where she helped evaluate emerging technologies and led M&A and commercial partnerships. She brings experience as a senior policy advisor in Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral administration in New York, as well as from roles at McKinsey & Company and JPMorgan Chase.

WFG hires underwriters Rachel Richardson, Tory Vincent

Left to right: Tory Vincent, Rachel Richardson

WFG National Title Insurance Company, the Portland, Oregon-based provider of commercial and residential title services, announced the appointments of Rachel Richardson and Tory Vincent, both of whom will serve as Michigan state counsel and national agency counsel.

“Both come to us from the retail side of our business, which uniquely enables them to understand, relate to and effectively address the unique issues and underwriting needs of our agency customers,” said Patrick Malone, vice president, Great Plains and Great Lakes region agency manager.

WFG’s new additions both come to the firm from Amrock, where they most recently served as associate corporate counsels, handling pre-closing and curative issues. Richardson spent seven years on Amrock’s legal team while Vincent served eight. Both also hold title producer licenses in Michigan and Indiana.

Bell Bank names Damon Peters CRE manager in Twin Cities

Photo by Sarah Pierce

Family- and employee-owned Bell Bank, with full-serving banking locations in three states and more than $10 billion in assets, announced the appointment of Damon Peters as senior vice president, commercial real estate manager. A 30-plus-year financial industry veteran, Peters has held numerous positions within banking, including as a commercial real estate banker, special assets manager and senior portfolio manager. Before joining Bell Bank, headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, Peters worked at BMO Harris and Huntington Bank. In his new role, Peters will guide a team to drive expansion of commercial real estate lending in the Twin Cities region.

Union Home Mortgage hires Rachael Gilbert to lead Florida branch

Independent mortgage bank Union Home Mortgage named Rachael Gilbert branch manager of its office in Ormond Beach, Florida. Gilbert most recently served as a loan originator at Ameris Bank and also has held various positions in Florida at financial institutions, such as BB&T, Seacoast Bank, PNC and SunTrust Bank. As branch manager, Gilbert will oversee recruitment of new mortgage originators and develop relationships in Volusia and Flagler Counties, communities her office covers.

Nations Lending taps Clayton Cummings to manage new Texas office

Full-service mortgage lender Nations Lending opened a new office in Texas, naming mortgage veteran Clayton Cummings branch manager. With experience in both loan originations and branch management, Cummings joins Nations from Academy Mortgage, where he was a local branch manager for eight years.

Located in Highland Village, the branch is Nations Lending’s latest foray into Texas, a state the Independence, Ohio-based company has prioritized in recent years.

"There's no question we see great things on the horizon for our Texas branches and the state as a whole," said Randy Koerner, divisional manager at Nations Lending.

Geneva Financial hires Starlette Bell, Lynn Whipple to lead branches

Left to right: Lynn Whipple, Starlette Bell

Direct mortgage lender Geneva Financial, with headquarters in Chandler, Arizona, announced the opening of new branches in Arkansas and Colorado. Tapped to lead the locations were Starlette Bell, who will manage Geneva’s office in Van Buren, Arkansas, and Lynn Whipple, responsible for the Montrose, Colorado branch. Bell will be able to assist borrowers in Arkansas and Oklahoma, while Whipple’s office will serve residents across Colorado. The latest hires are part of Geneva’s plans to grow in markets across the country. The company currently operates offices in 45 states.

Seyfarth names new partners in New York, Atlanta

Left to right: Iryna Ivashchuk, Michael Fein, Jeffrey Lampiasi

Seyfarth Shaw, a global law firm with 17 locations worldwide, named three new partners in its real estate group. The company added Iryna Ivashchuk, who will handle transactions in the Southeast from Atlanta, while Michael Fein and Jeffrey Lampiasi will serve the local market near Seyfarth’s New York location.

Ivashchuk specializes in commercial leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, and loan transactions and comes to Seyfarth from Berger Singerman. Her clients include public and private companies, developers and banks. Formerly head of Watson Farley & Williams’s real estate group, Fein has managed billions of dollars in real estate transactions across a broad range of commercial sectors. Both Fein and Lampiasi, also previously with Watson, Farley & Williams, represent investors, developers and other parties in commercial real estate financial transactions.