Go Mortgage appoints Jay Promisco as CEO

Go Mortgage has named longtime lending executive and technology advocate Jay Promisco as CEO.

The former president of Sierra Pacific Mortgage, Promisco moved over to take the helm at Columbus, Ohio-based Go after the acquisition of originations assets belonging to his previous company last year. The news was first reported in The Mortgage Scoop.

In meetings with Go Mortgage staff members this week, Promisco said boosting growth of the company's retail channel topped his list of initial priorities, according to the publication. 

A veteran of the channel, he initially joined Sierra Pacific in 2017 as a senior vice president of retail lending before his subsequent promotions to chief production officer and president, a role he held for just over a year before the company's sale to Union Home Mortgage. Prior to his tenure at Sierra Pacific, Promisco worked for several years in management roles at Stearns Lending. 

"Jay has a track record of growing mortgage platforms by turning innovation into measurable results, and he shares our belief that the future mortgage company will look fundamentally different than do today's companies," Go's ownership group said in a press release.

He takes the reins at Go Mortgage from majority owner, Jordan Hansell, who served in the position on an interim basis upon the exit of former CEO Michael Isaacs last summer. Go's previous chief operating officer, Andrew Panagos, also announced his departure from the firm in the second half of 2025. 

With a background outside of the mortgage industry, Hansell is the founder and CEO of Tradepost, an investment platform providing capital to small and midsized companies, which led the acquisition of Go in 2022. Hansell also is the former chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Netjets.  

Growth of Go Mortgage

Promisco joins a growing mortgage shop, which itself expanded through a merger over the past two years. In 2024, Go signed an agreement to acquire Pacific Residential Mortgage, which significantly expanded the company's presence on the West Coast.   

Combined production volume for the two companies totaled $974.6 million that year, which came from 2,881 originations, according to Iemergent analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The company currently operates retail branches in 14 states.    

An artificial intelligence proponent

With the growth of artificial intelligence utilization in mortgage over the past few years, Promisco has emerged as one of the technology's most gung-ho advocates, frequently speaking about the transformative possibilities of AI to optimize efficiency in the loan origination process — a strategy he expects to move forward with at Go Mortgage.  

"The winners over the next decade will be the most efficient, tech-enabled platforms focused on originator success," Promisco noted.

"Go Cos. has the capital, talent and ambition to rethink how mortgages are originated, underwritten and delivered.  My focus is building a company designed for where the industry is going, not where it's been."

In technology panels, he cited the value of integrating automation strategy throughout loan manufacturing rather than pinpointing individual tasks toward maximizing cost savings and staying ahead of competitors. 

"If I can get my manufacturing cost down to zero, I can outpace and price out everybody else in the market," he said at the Digital Mortgage conference in 2025. 

After leaving Sierra Pacific last October, Promisco served as an advisory consultant to mortgage AI platform Jazzx.