People

Peter J. Korda and Andrew M. Pearlstein have been named co-chairs of Seyfarth Shaw LLP's Structured and Real Estate Finance Practice Group, a subgroup of the firm's Real Estate Practice Group. Seyfarth Shaw said its SREF attorneys represent lenders in a wide range of real estate finance transactions. Mr. Korda, a partner in the firm's New York office, concentrates on representing lenders in real estate finance matters, workouts, and restructured transactions. Mr. Pearlstein, a partner in the firm's Boston office, concentrates on representing financial institutions, businesses, real estate owners, and developers involved in complex commercial real estate and financial transactions. The law firm can be found online at http://www.seyfarth.com.

Todd Voigt has been named senior vice president and portfolio manager at Cohen & Steers Inc., New York, where he is slated to lead the creation of hedged real estate securities portfolios. Cohen & Steers said he will help formulate the firm's long/short global real estate securities strategy. Mr. Voigt was previously involved in portfolio management for real estate securities hedge funds at Cliffwood Partners LLC, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment management firm.

Richard A. Price Jr. has been named non-executive chairman of the board of CIFG Holding Ltd., the Hamilton, Bermuda-based holding company for several financial guaranty subsidiaries. Mr. Price, 61, was most recently chief executive officer of Zurich Capital Markets and Centre Re and has more than 35 years of experience in banking and insurance, CIFG said. Among his previous positions were several senior posts at FGIC, including president of FGIC Capital Markets. CIFG can be found on the Web at http://www.cifg.com.

Catherine M. Jackson has been named senior vice president and controller of Radian Group Inc., a Philadelphia-based mortgage insurer. Ms. Jackson was most recently executive vice president and chief accounting officer for Capmark Financial Group Inc. She has over 20 years of experience in accounting and corporate financial management as well as "significant experience" in the real estate and the financial services industries, Radian said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.radian.biz

Steven R. Goldman has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc., a real estate investment trust based in San Clemente, Calif., to become president of Global Real Estate and Development at Hilton Hotels Corp. Mr. Goldman will remain at Sunstone until the end of March to assist in the transition of duties, the company said. The board of directors has appointed Robert A. Alter interim CEO, effective March 31. Mr. Alter currently serves as the company's executive chairman and was its CEO from its founding until March 2007. He will remain as interim CEO until a permanent CEO is hired.

Joseph T. Lynyak III, a veteran banking regulatory lawyer with experience in mortgage and subprime lending matters, has joined Venable LLP as a partner in its Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. offices. Mr. Lynyak moves to Venable from financial services law firm Buckley Kolar LLP, where he practiced in the firm's Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. offices. In addition to mortgage-related matters, he has experience in retail banking, fair lending, and bank operations issues, including federal pre-emption and strategic planning, Venable said. The law firm can be found online at http://www.venable.com.

Janice Brehm has been named senior vice president for mortgage banking at Ameriana Bank New Castle, Ind. Ms. Brehm will supervise the origination and processing of residential loans and will oversee the servicing responsibilities for the division. Ms. Brehm joined Ameriana in 2004 as a vice president in the Mortgage Lending Division. She was previously a mortgage loan officer and processing supervisor with First Bank Richmond NA in Richmond, Ind.

Citigroup, New York, has given responsibility for risk oversight of its real estate and mortgage exposure to Greg Hawkins, a pioneer in the development of fixed-income valuation models. Notable aspects of his career include his start in 1985 on Wall Street as a mortgage researcher at Salomon Brothers, a firm later acquired by Citi, and his later involvement with the Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund as a founding partner in 1993. He is one of four new senior risk managers who will report to Brian Leach, the new chief risk officer. Mr. Leach, the successor to retiring Citi CRO Jorge Bermudez, is the CRO and co-chief operating officer of Citi's Old Lane hedge fund and was one of the six managers involved in the liquidation of LTCM.

Joanne Berkowitz has been named executive vice president for risk management and operations at PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The PMI Group Inc. Ms. Berkowitz will be responsible for optimizing the credit risk, portfolio management, and risk-adjusted return objectives for PMI's U.S. mortgage insurance portfolio, as well as for underwriting and servicing operations, the company said. She was most recently the chief enterprise risk officer for The PMI Group. Ms. Berkowitz, who began her career with PMI in 1983, has held a variety of positions, including managing risk management and underwriting for U.S. mortgage insurance operations and for international and strategic investments.

Roland Arnall, who founded both Ameriquest Mortgage and its wholesale affiliate Argent, has resigned as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands effective March 7, citing his son's health. Mr. Arnall was confirmed as ambassador in early 2006 shortly after Ameriquest, once the nation's largest retail subprime lender, agreed to pay $325 million to settle predatory-lending allegations levied against it by attorneys general in 49 states. (Argent, which is now owned by Citigroup, was not a party to the settlement.) Ameriquest's retail arm was closed last year. Mr. Arnall's company, ACC Capital Holdings Corp. of Orange, Calif., is still in business, though it has little or no remaining presence in mortgages. "This was a difficult decision, and one Ambassador Arnall made only after careful consideration," said State Department spokesman Rob McInturff. "In 2006, his son Daniel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Unfortunately, although initial treatment appeared to be effective, Daniel has had a relapse." Mr. Arnall and his wife Dawn are expected to return to the U.S. shortly.