On The Move

It’s About People

Tracking The Latest New Hires, Promotions And Layoffs

We are advocates of technology, but people matter most. Behind every good technology is a smart person. To this end, PROGRESS is so proud to report that a good friend has gotten a well-deserved promotion. Ellie Mae announced that Jonathan Corr has been named chief operating officer. Mr. Corr, who has been responsible for corporate and product strategy for Ellie Mae, will also oversee all sales, business development, marketing, client services and client support divisions. Jonathan Corr joined Ellie Mae in 2002 as senior vice president of product strategy. He became the company’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer in 2005. Here’s more on Jonathan and other noted promotions at other technology vendors:

“This is a great milestone for our company,” said Sig Anderman, Ellie Mae founder and CEO. “Jonathan has been the driving force behind the development and impressive adoption of all of our flagship products, including Encompass360 and its hosted – or SaaS – edition, as well as the Ellie Mae Network that electronically connects originators to the business partners they need to work with to process and fund loans. He has also been instrumental in the company’s successful IPO last April, and in the acquisitions of Del Mar DataTrac, Mortgage Pricing Systems, Mavent and Online Documents, Inc.”

Mr. Corr, a 1989 graduate of Columbia University, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, earned an MBA from Stanford University in 1996. He is an expert in the field of mortgage technology and, recognized as one of the leading industry visionaries, is a frequent speaker for industry panels and conferences. In 2007, he was named to the Mortgage Banking magazine list of IT All-Stars for his contributions in mortgage technology. Prior to his work with Ellie Mae, Mr. Corr held executive level positions at PeopleSoft, Inc., Netscape and Kana/Broadbase Software/Rubric.

Also, Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM), a national asset management and disposition firm that deals with multiple federal agencies and mortgage servicers, investors and insurers, has named leading mortgage industry veteran Timothy Walsh to the position of executive vice president. Walsh was also named as executive vice president of Sperlonga Data & Analytics, MMREM’s affiliate company that provides solutions for the growing problem of homeowners associations’ (HOAs) claims for unpaid association fees.

Walsh will serve as a key member of MMREM’s executive team and will report directly to CEO and founder, Matt Martin. He brings over two decades of real estate, lending and default management experience to MMREM and Sperlonga, as well as extensive expertise in business development.

Most recently, Walsh served as president and chief executive officer of UnitedTechLender Services LLC, a national default services company specializing in outsourcing, fulfillment and technology solutions for homeowner defaults. Under Walsh’s leadership, UnitedTechLender increased monthly revenues by 144 percent. Walsh also held senior executive positions at First NLC Financial and Global Bancorp. 

Third, IndiSoft a technology development firm that focuses on systems for the default services space, has promoted Kapil Dhakad from project manager to vice president of custom solutions of the company. He is now responsible for ensuring that product configurations are tailored to meet specific needs of each client. 

“We are fortunate to have employees such as Kapil who are dedicated to working toward the improvement of the industry’s processes as a whole,” said Sanjeev Dahiwadkar, CEO and president of IndiSoft. “Having devoted people such as Kapil allows our company to continue providing the highest level of excellence in delivering the leading default and compliance technology that has become our signature in the industry.”

Dhakad joined IndiSoft in 2004 as a team leader and spearheaded implementing the RxOffice platform for several clients. He became project manager in 2007 and was responsible for managing, analysis, integration, maintenance and implementation as well as client interaction.

Lastly, Capsilon, a provider of cloud-based document sharing, imaging and collaboration solutions for businesses, announced that Sheila Plunkett has been named vice president of sales, where she is responsible for spearheading sales and business development for the company.

Plunkett has more than 25 years of experience in strategic, enterprise-level technology sales and marketing management, specializing in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Capsilon, she was the vice president of sales for Edina, Minn.-based Dexma where she generated increasing revenues from sales to banks and credit unions, including mortgage units for two of the top 10 banks in the United States. Previously, she worked as the sales director for Minneapolis- based Fair Issac Inc., was responsible for strategic sales for electronic products and organizational assessment to Fannie Mae and worked as senior manager for Ernst and Young LLP. Plunkett began her career in sales with IBM.

“Sheila brings a vast amount of leadership and sales experience to our team as well as a proven track record of successfully meeting and exceeding sales goals in the financial and mortgage industry,” said Sanjeev Malaney, chief executive officer at Capsilon. “This is an exciting time for Capsilon as our record growth among top lending institutions makes this the right time to expand our team and we know that as an accomplished VP of Sales, Shelia will help drive continued success.”

In Search Of Visionaries

I was happy and sad to see Griff Straw retire at MBA Annual. He’s a true visionary in my opinion. What an amazing guy. And as the mortgage industry gets passed this rough patch, we need visionaries. Data-Vision President, Randy Schmidt, stated, “As lenders realize the importance of online lending as a growth strategy for their mortgage and consumer lending divisions, demand continues to grow.” To meet this demand for great technology both Data-Vision and Capsilon made strategic hires. They added:

First, Vincent Olson, an experienced online lending expert has joined Data-Vision’s growing sales team. “We are excited to add Vincent to our growing sales team”. Schmidt added, “He brings a wealth of experience in online lending that will add value to our current and future clients.”

As the market evolves and borrowers demand more online lending tools from their lender, Data-Vision has a proven track record of delivering trusted products and services to the hundreds of financial institutions that it serves. The latest in its long list of innovations is Data-Vision’s new “Customer Portal”.

The Customer Portal provides to Data-Vision clients the best customer experience for the borrower. Once the borrower signs onto the Customer Portal, they can see submitted applications, saved applications and all documents that were generated during the application process. The system allows for two way secure messaging between the borrower and the lender. In addition, Data-Vision is the only platform that allows the consumer to upload documents back to the lender. So if the lender needs a copy of the borrower’s Pay Stub or Tax Return, they can safely and securely deliver those documents.

Vincent Olson, Sales Executive of Data-Vision, said “The combination of Data-Vision’s innovative online lending technologies, document delivery and secure communications is something that I have not seen offered in the industry”. Olson added, “it is an exciting time to be able to provide lenders with this level of online lending solutions”

Similarly, Capsilon, a provider of cloud-based document sharing, imaging and collaboration solutions for businesses, announced that David Sohm has joined its executive team as chief operating officer in response to the company’s recent growth.

In this position, Sohm oversees all daily strategic and operational responsibilities of the company. With more than 15 years of COO level experience in technology and Software as a Service (Saas) markets, he has successfully developed and executed product, support, sales distributor and marketing plans to achieve company growth and prosperity.

“I joined Capsilon due to its leadership and reputation for being strategic and forward thinking in enabling business critical transactions to be made through collaborative management and sharing of documents,” said Sohm. “I am excited to work with the company as automated document handling becomes a must-have for the industry.”

Prior to joining Capsilon, Sohm was the president and COO for Redwood City, Calif.- based Contactual, a provider of cloud-based call center software. He was also president of San Francisco- based Captaris MediaLinq, a SaaS provider of electronic document delivery, communications and mobile business solutions as well as president of ASK Data3, the IBM products division of Mountain View, Calif.-based ASK Group. Sohm has held several other executive level positions with the ASK Group, Sybase and Hewlett-Packard.

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Getting Their Just Reward

There is no denying that there’s a lot of bad news going around. Are you tired of bad news? Well, we at PROGRESS in Lending Association are sure tired of bad news. So today we want to bring you some good news. PROGRESS in Lending has learned of two staffing news stories that made us smile. Here’s the scoop:

First, InHouse, Inc., a provider of appraisal management services, announces the promotion of Jennifer Creech to chief executive officer and president. Creech had been serving as the president of InHouse since 2010. Since joining the company in 2009, Creech has leveraged her 20 years of senior management experience in mortgage lending to fuel the company’s growth. Today, InHouse represents a new concept in appraisal management. Lenders have the choice of using InHouse Solutions as their appraisal management company (AMC), InHouse Connexions technology as a self-service appraisal management system, or implementing a combination of both.

Creech has been instrumental in making InHouse one of the earliest providers to offer a full integration to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), a single portal through which lenders will electronically submit appraisal reports for conventional mortgages delivered to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Creech’s career includes managing upward of $5 billion of annual loan production. She has held senior level management positions at  PNC/Washington Mutual,  RBC Mortgage and DeepGreen Financial. As executive vice president for DeepGreen Financial, Creech headed both the wholesale and retail divisions nationwide.  She was also responsible for rebranding the company’s identity, along with managing one of the first completely automated loan processes.

Second, Strategic Vantage, a marketing and public relations agency dedicated to the mortgage industry, announced the appointment of Mike Murray as Senior Account Executive. Murray has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services and mortgage industry, broadcasting and writing.  He spent over 12 years working for the Mortgage Bankers Association as editorial manager of online communications and as writer for MBA NewsLink and Real Estate Finance Today. Murray also contributed articles to Mortgage Banking magazine and hosted a public affairs program, This Month in Housing, heard on local Washington, D.C. radio stations.

“Mike brings a combination of excellent writing, deep industry knowledge and a can-do attitude that makes him exactly the kind of professional we seek,” said Rosalie Berg, president of Strategic Vantage.

Congratulations to both Jennifer and Mike!

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In Search Of Innovators

It has been said many times by many people that our industry needs leaders. In fact, Lisa Schreiber and others have written about this very notion in our monthly magazine. And our Innovations Program was established to recognize true leadership within the mortgage lending arena. Today PROGRESS in Lending has learned that Lisa and several others have just taken on new positions within our industry. Here’s the details:

First, origination vendor Ellie Mae has appointed Lisa Schreiber as the company’s new vice president of lender business development. As vice president of lender business development, Schreiber oversees the company’s efforts to build and maintain productive, collaborative relationships with mega-lenders and correspondent investors. Her first major undertaking with Ellie Mae is overseeing the implementation of the company’s TQL (Total Quality Loan) program by a top five mega-lender.
Ms. Schreiber has extensive experience helping both lenders and investors leverage technology as the foundation for their business initiatives. Her career includes over 15 years in senior-level positions with organizations such as Bank of America and American Home Mortgage/American Brokers Conduit. Ms. Schreiber played a key role in American Brokers Conduit’s significant production growth from 2002 to 2006, and championed the company’s use of technology to grow into a top ranking national lender.
“Lisa is a technology visionary and has a long track record of leveraging the solutions that take friction out of the mortgage process and ultimately drive quality throughout the supply chain,” said Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer for Ellie Mae. “Her skills, insight and expertise in quality initiatives on the investor side align very well with our strategies for mega-lenders and correspondent investors at Ellie Mae. We’re very excited to have her on the team.”

Second, Churchill Mortgage has named Don R. Baskin as its newest area manager. In his role, he will be responsible for opening new retail branches throughout Middle Tennessee. Baskin brings more than 37 years of mortgage banking experience to Churchill Mortgage. As senior vice president and mid-south regional manager for Bank of America Mortgage, he managed 26 mortgage offices across Georgia and Tennessee for nearly 30 years. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and state manager for First Tennessee Home Loans, where he was responsible for 16 mortgage offices in Tennessee.

Baskin is a 12-year recipient of the Chairman/President Club Award at Bank of America and a four-year recipient of the Chairman/President Club Award at First Tennessee Home Loans. Baskin also served as president of the Nashville Mortgage Bankers Association (NMBA). An active member of his community, Baskin is a deacon at Two Rivers Baptist Church and was a past chairman of the Board at Donelson Christian Academy. He is a spokesperson for the Donate Life, Tissues and Organs organization, and has coached Donelson Little League for more than 30 years.

Lastly, default services vendor IndiSoft has expanded its management team, hiring Rosa Linnear as a new project manager and tapping Nandini Thosar as a software engineer.

“As the industry’s need for default management technology and expertise increases and more organizations select IndiSoft, it is paramount that we not only expand our team but also find the right individuals to best serve our clients,” said Sanjeev Dahiwadkar, CEO and president of IndiSoft. “Rosa and Nandini each bring a combination of industry experience and drive for excellence that make them the ideal additions to IndiSoft at this time of steady growth.”

As project manager, Linnear works with clients and internal teams to develop and execute projects, defining both objectives and timelines. She manages the full lifecycle of application development, oversees the programming team and is responsible for maintaining compliance standards. Prior to joining IndiSoft, Linnear was an IT project coordinator at Kaiser Permanente, where she trained project managers on implementing methodology to complete assignments under budget. Linnear was also a project manager for the Maryland Institute of Emergency Management Service Systems (MIEMSS) and an IT project coordinator for MedStar Health. She began her career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers managing the development and training of the Sales Activity Management (SAM) database in the Midwest and Eastern regions of the U.S.

Linnear is a member of the Baltimore chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI), as well as the American Marketing Association (AMA). She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a marketing focus from the University of Baltimore and has a Master of Science in management with an emphasis in project management from the University of Maryland.

As software engineer, Thosar works with technical and nontechnical teams to further project development. She performs application development and software code, including functional requirements and system risk analysis. Thosar also conducts software testing and quality assurance and manages the integration of software with a client’s existing systems. Prior to IndiSoft, Thosar was a software engineer for Inform Technologies, Inc., where she developed .Net SOAP Web services, created test units and provided technical support to B2B clients.

Experts In Demand

As the mortgage industry becomes more complex, technology vendors realize that they need to hire the best mortgage minds. Think of it this way: A landscaper may be able to fix a stone stoop outside your house, but you should really get a certified mason to do that type of work because that’s his specialty. The same applies to mortgage. Some may know the technology, but if they don’t know mortgage they may not be as effective. To this end, PROGRESS in Lending has heard of several new hires where expertise was a prime consideration.

First, ITShastra, a software development, testing and design company has named Ramesh Devare chief operating officer. Devare brings more than 22 years of Global IT experience and strong project delivery management knowledge in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) domain. He joins ITShastra from iGate-Patni, a leading global provider of information technology and outsourcing services.

During his tenure at iGate-Patni Devare worked closely with Fortune 500 companies across the globe and successfully managed multi-million dollar engagements with large, cross functional and multi-location teams. He also has more than six years of onshore experience serving North American and European customers in various capacities.

Prior to iGate-Patni, Devare was associated with Computronics Financial Services in India, where he was responsible for maintaining and enhancing proprietary financial applications for various leading banking and financial services corporations within India.

ITShastra also appointed Ms. Pranali Zaware as manager of Human Resources and Ms. Bhavana Wakale as software testing engineer. Both Zaware and Wakale bring have spent quality time in the financial industry and are well respected in their operational areas. Pranali worked with IPCA Laboratories at its corporate headquarters in Mumbai.

In addition, Dominick Marchetti has joined Blueberry Systems as an executive vice president and member of its executive leadership team. In this role he will be primarily responsible for strategic and business development.

“Even after 15 years of experience building and analyzing highly successful mortgage technology, I was impressed with the unique and innovative solutions that Blueberry Systems offers,” said Marchetti. “So much so, that I took advantage of the opportunity to join them. They are poised to move the industry forward by leaps and bounds and I’m excited to be part of it.”

A mortgage industry veteran, Marchetti began his mortgage career in 1996, and has held positions in management, operations, production and information technology for multiple nationally-ranked mortgage lenders. In his most recent position, Marchetti served as the chief production officer of StoneWater Mortgage Corp., where he was integral in the creation of a loan origination platform that successfully grew monthly originations to $138 million within the first six months of operations.

Prior to StoneWater Mortgage Corp., Marchetti was a founder of First Magnus Financial Corp., and as its chief technology officer, was responsible for the development of an in-house loan origination solution that supported the company’s rise to become a nationally ranked Top 20 lender.

Things Change

No matter how much we may fear change, everything changes. Today the mortgage industry is in flux. A lot of friends and dare I say, visionaries, are leaving the space entirely and others are moving to new positions. We wish them all well. Now to the details at hand: PROGRESS in Lending has learned of new hires and promotions at Churchill Mortgage, Sperlonga Data and Analytics and Genpact.

Churchill Mortgage has promoted Doug Walker to vice president of Sales Support, where he will support the lender’s Home Loan Specialists for all its branches to drive loan volume. Churchill Mortgage is a leader in the mortgage industry providing conventional, FHA and VA residential Mortgages across 25 states.

Walker has 15 years of industry experience, and has been with Churchill Mortgage since 1997, when he joined as a loan officer. He became director of Sales three years later, and was responsible for overseeing all aspects of marketing, customer service, sales support and sales management.

Walker established Churchill’s Sales Support division in 2009 to constantly monitor Churchill Mortgage’s pipeline of customers to ensure they receive outstanding service, and Churchill Mortgage estimates an $18 million increase in production for that year alone as a result.

“As Churchill Mortgage continues to grow, we realized a need for Doug to focus 100 percent of his efforts on sales support for our entire network of branches across the country,” said Mike Hardwick, president of Churchill Mortgage. “Throughout his 14 years at Churchill Mortgage, Doug has proven to be a valuable asset to our Nashville sales team and we’re excited to see him excel in this new expanded role, as well as further support local communities in our branch network with their home buying goals.”

Also, Sperlonga Data and Analytics, a subsidiary of national real estate asset firm MMREM, has hired Brent Stokes, a 26-year mortgage industry veteran, for the newly created position of senior vice president. Stokes will lead the existing effort on Sperlonga’s unique homeowners association-oriented offerings to lenders, investors, servicers, HOAs and other stakeholders in the mortgage space.

Sperlonga Data and Analytics provides a centralized interface for servicers and homeowners associations (HOAs) to help stakeholders minimize losses associated with transaction delays and lost revenues caused by HOA claims. Sperlonga performs HOA Delinquency Checks? and facilitates payment of delinquent HOA claims so servicers and investors can obtain clear title and remarket owned real estate faster and more easily.  Sperlonga also provides HOA Delinquency Checks? for use as analysis tools while servicers contemplate approval of a loan modification request, or when servicers try to pre-determine final net proceeds at the beginning of a short sale request.

Stokes is a highly experienced executive with a diverse background in lending, lending management, title insurance and settlement services, foreclosure audits and processes, and product management. He has worked for leading companies including Chase Home Loans, Stewart Title and First American Title in key production management and national accounts roles. He joins Sperlonga after helping the company as a product development and management consultant.

Lastly, a great friend to PROGRESS in Lending has informed us about his move. Rob Pommier, formerly with OpenClose, is now Vice President, Business Development at Genpact.

Best wishes to all!

New Developments

Who says lenders aren’t hiring? Churchill Mortgage, a lender that does conventional, FHA and VA residential mortgages across 25 states, announced Kevin Watson as its newest branch manager for the Brentwood, Tenn. call center branch, located at 761 Old Hickory Blvd., Suite 400. Also, consultant Peter Fugaro recently got kudos. Here’s the full story:

First, Watson brings nearly 20 years of mortgage banking experience to Churchill Mortgage. Previously, he was vice president and top producer for Franklin Synergy Bank. Before that, he was sales manager for Bank of America Mortgage, where he was the number-one producer for Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.

In recent years, Watson has received numerous awards for outstanding performance, including being a seven-time recipient of The National Association of Mortgage Bankers (NAMB) award. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Alabama and is a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Training course. Watson was also an Army Reserve Officer in the Alabama National Guard.

An active member of his community and the mortgage banking industry, Watson is a current member and past chairman of the Board of Directors for Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce; associate member of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (GNAR); and member of the Williamson County Association of Realtors (WCAR). He is also a member of the Williamson County Business Network International (BNI); member of Youth Encouragement Services Board of Directors; and past president of the Music City Chapter of BNI. Watson is a deacon at Harpeth Community Church and resides in the Westhaven community in Franklin, Tenn.

Second, The Mortgage Bankers Association has awarded Peter Fugaro, President of Prymak, a mortgage technology and marketing consulting firm, the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation. Fugaro joins a select number of real estate finance professionals who have exhibited their superior knowledge, understanding and competency in residential and/or commercial real estate finance by earning the CMB designation. The CMB will be presented to Fugaro at a ceremony held at MBA’s 98th Annual Convention & Expo in Chicago, Illinois.

CMB candidates must amass 150 points earned through a combination of professional experience, continuing education and industry participation through MBA-sponsored events and CampusMBA courses. After accumulating the required points and passing a comprehensive written exam, candidates must demonstrate industry knowledge by passing an oral exam conducted by a panel of Certified Mortgage Bankers.

Congrats!

Looking For Talent

We all take certain things for granted. For example, my son is great at playing the violin. He started playing last year and he loves it. We’re very proud. He picked it up so fast. Yet, if you were to ask him, he thinks he’s just average. Given that I’m his father and completely unbiased, I know better. But seriously, everyone has a talent. To this end, PROGRESS in Lending is hearing more and more about technology companies looking to hire very seasoned mortgage professionals. Here’s the scoop:

DecisionReady Solutions, a provider of default servicing compliance solutions has named Matthew Lichtner to the position of executive vice president, director of national sales and client relations.

In his new role, Lichtner will be responsible for overall direct and indirect sales, marketing strategy, and increasing DecisionReady’s market penetration with mortgage loan servicers, investors, and regulatory agencies. He will also lead the effort to develop new strategic partnerships for joint sales efforts.

Lichtner has over two decades of sales experience in the mortgage industry working for companies such as First American Corporation and Stewart Title Company. Most recently he was senior vice president and national account manager at Stewart Lender Services, charged with overseeing and building executive level relationships with the top 30 national lenders/servicers. Prior to Stewart, Lichtner worked at First American Corporation where he served as senior vice president, regional sales manager and national account director for the Information Solutions and National Lenders Advantage Groups.

“Working for a company as well poised for growth as DecisionReady was an opportunity hard to pass up”, says Lichtner. “They have the right technology, at the right time–and their growth and impressive footprint reflect that. The company is in a great position to be an industry leader for the long term and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of the DecisionReady team.”

DecisionReady’s technologies help servicers ensure compliance throughout the entire servicing cycle. The platform is currently in use by one of the nation’s top two servicers and has been used to ensure compliance on over 1.8 million transactions.

“Demand for compliance solutions for the servicing segment is growing quickly, and Matt is well-suited to harness this potential,” said Ravi Ramanathan, president and CEO of DecisionReady. “We have great confidence that he will help us and our clients achieve their goals.”

Also, Aklero Risk Analytics Inc., a provider of mortgage quality control software and services via their automated data and document validity assurance platform, has hired John Alarcon as Chief Financial Officer.

“John has a proven track record as a CFO, having helped several companies effectively grow and improve their financial footprints,” said Brian K. Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer at Aklero. “He brings a great deal of financial expertise as well as leadership skills, and we are looking forward to working with him.”

As Chief Financial Officer, Alarcon oversees financial operations, planning and human resources at Aklero. He brings more than 16 years of senior executive experience and has held positions in management, finance and operations at both private and public software, consulting, and financial services companies.

Prior to joining Aklero, Alarcon served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Treasurer for ISGN, a leading mortgage technology and business process outsourcing firm headquartered in Bensalem, Pa., where he supported the rapid growth of the company, including participating in mergers and acquisitions, capital funding, and financing activities.

LOS Promotes From Within

PROGRESS has learned that Avista Solutions, a provider of a web-based, end-to-end mortgage loan origination system, has promoted Michael Picker to Senior Vice President of Sales. Coinciding with Picker’s new role is his relocation to Avista’s corporate headquarters in Charleston, SC from his home state of Missouri. Picker brings more than 14 years mortgage software sales experience to his new role.

Since Picker’s joining Avista Solutions in 2006, Avista has experienced a period of tremendous growth.

“Michael has been a valuable asset to Avista Solutions,” Avista Solutions CEO Mark Phlieger said. “As we’ve hit milestones such as our ten-year anniversary and expansion to a new corporate headquarters in Charleston, Michael has served as an outstanding leader, spreading the word about Avista’s LOS to mortgage lenders across the country. I look forward to seeing him direct Avista’s sales team to continued success as he begins this new chapter of his career.”

As Avista Solutions’ Senior Vice President of Sales, Picker will be responsible for all sales functions and personnel. Picker said he looks forward to achieving company growth plans as he introduces mortgage lenders to Avista’s cloud-based mortgage technology platform.

Picker said, “Avista has seen an increased demand for cloud-based mortgage technology over the past 10 years. Lenders not only want the best technology available, they want a proven and stable business partner to collaborate with.”

Sales And Marketing Pays Off

It used to be that sales and marketing was the first to go. When the market is down, people cut their marketing efforts and lay off sales people. At least that’s what usually happens. Because we’re in a prolonged downturn, we’re seeing a change. Companies are realizing that its your sales staff and marketing that brings in leads and when the market is down, everyone needs leads. We at PROGRESS in Lending have learned of two new hires that speak to this trend.

First, Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate, LLC, a full service national real estate brokerage, hired Robert Watson as vice president and regional manager, covering the company’s real estate agent network in Orange and San Diego counties. A well-established real estate broker in the Orange County area, Watson will focus on developing a business model for the Atlantic & Pacific agents and offices of the future, utilizing new technologies, social media, agent training, and a customer-centric approach.

Watson specializes in fully leveraging social networking and online resources to improve information access and the overall customer experience. Prior to joining Atlantic & Pacific, he worked with Prudential Real Estate Affiliates as director of education and product development, where he developed the e-Certified program to train and certify agents on the effective use of technology in their businesses. He has earned both the CRB and ePro professional designations through the National Association of Realtors.

“Watson’s knowledge and intelligent use of online tools, technology and social networking to improve agent productivity, and focus on the office of the future make him the perfect addition to our management team as we develop new approaches to the buying and selling experience for our customers,” noted Steve DiUbaldo, president of Atlantic & Pacific.

Watson will work with the Atlantic & Pacific Advance U educational team—a program tailored specifically to Atlantic & Pacific agents—to develop training and agent education focused on delivering maximum value for each customer.

Also, ISGN Solutions Inc. has hired Scott Slifer as its new president of sales and marketing. Slifer brings over 22 years of financial services industry experience, including 16 years in housing finance and technology. He is the third senior executive to be hired by ISGN in the past several months, as the company advances its expansion plans for the remainder of the year and into 2012.

In his new role, Slifer will oversee ISGN’s client relationship, business development and marketing activities for the company’s entire line of product and service offerings. He was previously senior vice president of business development and marketing with Altisource Portfolio Solutions, a provider of knowledge process services for the mortgage industry, where he oversaw business development and marketing activities for the company’s mortgage services and technology products segments.

Prior to his work with Altisource, Slifer was a senior executive in sales management for organizations that include Citi and ABN AMRO, where he was responsible for market growth, business development, profit and loss management, marketing strategy and overall delivery of customer service. He also worked for Freddie Mac, where he oversaw and directed the organization’s customer management and business development efforts for their largest single family residence division. He is an accredited Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The message behind these two hires is that you can’t expect new business if you don’t employ a dynamic and experienced sales team.

Some Lenders Are Still Growing

Not every lender is contracting. For example, PROGRESS in Lending has learned that Total Mortgage Services LLC, a mortgage lender, is aggressively hiring 50 new retail loan officers to help expand its retail channel’s market position throughout the 23 states it is currently licensed in to originate residential mortgage loans. Total Mortgage is actively recruiting high quality mortgage production professionals, offering a highly competitive compensation package and other benefits.

“Total Mortgage’s vision is to deliver the perfect mortgage, which we believe starts with our advice-driven loan officers establishing a trust-based relationship with a borrower at initial contact and continuing to offer the best advice through closing,” commented John Walsh, President of Total Mortgage. “Part of our expansion strategy is to significantly increase our retail production team by adding 50 high quality mortgage sales professionals, who not only have a track record of producing quality loans, but who are technologically savvy, have great communication skills and are aligned with our integrity-based culture and our centralized model.”

Total Mortgage, which offers some of the lowest mortgage rates on jumbo loans, FHA-insured mortgages, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and adjustable-rate mortgages, is now licensed California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia and the District of Columbia. Total Mortgage currently has five additional state licenses pending.

To find out more information about joining Total Mortgage as a Loan Officer please contact Erik Martin, National Sales Manager, by calling 203-783-5532 or emailing him at emartin@totalmortgage.com.

New Hires Underscore The Importance Of Loan Quality

If you have not heard already, PROGRESS in Lending’s very own CTO Gabe Minton is once again active within MISMO. MISMO, the not-for-profit data standards subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which develops data transfer protocols that span the entire residential and commercial real estate finance industry, announced the appointment of Gabe Minton, Senior Vice President of Information Services at ServiceLink, to its Board of Directors.

“Gabe will provide excellent leadership for MISMO as it drives the development of technology standards for both the residential and commercial real estate finance industries,” said MBA Chairman Michael D. Berman, CMB “We are fortunate to have Gabe on board to help guide MISMO’s strategic vision and goals, to the benefit of the greater industry.” But Gabe’s new role isn’t the only new role being taken on by a mortgage technology veteran as part of an effort to reinforce data quality. Here’s the other news:

Aklero Risk Analytics Inc., a provider of mortgage loan quality software and services through automated data and document validity assurance for the mortgage industry, has named G. Carolyn Mitchell as Senior Vice President.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Carolyn onto our team,” said Brian K. Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer at Aklero. “She has over 30 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage banking industries, and we are proud of the stature she brings to Aklero.”

As Senior Vice President, Mitchell will oversee Business Development and Sales for the Northeast Region within the company. She is also charged with Business Development for the company’s Quality Control Audit Division.

“During my tenure at Magnet, I have looked at just about every QC technology platform in the industry to use for my own business. When I saw Aklero’s Loan Quality Management Platform, I immediately recognized it to be the power behind the most advanced mortgage quality control offering in the business,” said Mitchell. “Their Q-Close platform is a huge benefit to their clients, and I’m happy to be part of a company that has the most feature-filled and flexible platform in the Quality Control marketplace.”

That led her to the realization that mortgage quality control is expensive and not a revenue producing activity for a lender and, as a result, lenders are seeking more from their providers. They want a complete loan audit solution that includes automated document and data validity checks and dynamic loan research as opposed to inadequate static PDF or Excel-based reports.

Moreover, Aklero provides integrated business intelligence, a platform that electronically compares hundreds of data elements with the original documents, secure access to indexed documents, automated rebuttal submission and tracking as well as a segregated and secure audit archive. Combining all of this technology reduces the amount of time that lenders and management must spend sifting through QC data attempting to make sense of the results.

“I recognize that Aklero has established a new approach to how audit loan reviews are conducted and analyzed. They produce the most accurate results in the business and substantially change the cost structure of mortgage quality control for a lender,” said Mitchell. “The firm extracts hundreds of data elements from the original mortgage documents that it combines with codified alert findings. No one else in the mortgage business has the technology and expertise to do this.”

Mitchell is the founder, former president and CEO of Magnet Portfolio Services, Inc., a quality portfolio analysis and underwriting service provider to the lending industry. She has also held senior positions at Freddie Mac, Lomas and Nettleton, and other lending institutions.

Aklero Risk Analytics Inc. has also promoted Craig Riddell to Senior Vice President, Client Solutions. Riddell previously was Aklero’s Vice President of Product Management and Client Relations.

“Aklero’s 500% growth is in large part due to Craig’s significant knowledge of the mortgage industry and his ability to translate client needs and market demand into value added solutions for our customers.” Said Fitzpatrick. “His performance speaks volumes about how clients see us and about his role in earning their trust.”

Riddell is a real estate finance industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience at prominent mortgage and title companies. He has distinguished himself as a leader in retail, correspondent and wholesale positions, and was a past nominee for the NAMB Broker of the Year award.

Riddell has managed successful operations at every stage of the residential mortgage process. He has been responsible for developing new products and penetrating new vertical markets including the introduction and roll out of Aklero’s Q-Close Mortgage Quality Control Platform.

Riddell is known for his marketing and product development creativity and organizational leadership. He continues to address industry professionals at conferences and other events around the U.S. Riddell serves on the Wealth Advisory Board of a prominent investment firm.

Thinking Strategy, Strategy, Strategy

Last week we were told about several new hires. This week we have heard of even more. We saw vendors staff up to meet the challenges of our industry. Lenders need to automate and vendors need to respond.

However, that doesn’t mean that new hires are just going on left, right and center. These new hires are strategic in nature. For example, Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer for Ellie Mae, says, “Compliance is a top concern for our clients and a top priority for us. There are-and will be-a lot of compliance-related changes that stem from the Dodd-Frank Act.” To this end, we are hearing about a new hire at Ellie Mae and at TMS Funding that all meet strategic goals.

First, Ellie Mae has hired Parvesh Sahi as its new vice president of compliance solutions. Sahi has over a decade of mortgage compliance experience. In his new role, he will oversee business development of the company’s compliance offerings, which include Encompass Compliance Service, an integrated automated compliance solution powered by Mavent, which provides automatic compliance checks throughout the entire mortgage origination cycle. He will also oversee business development and client relationship management for Mavent, Inc., an automated compliance solution provider and subsidiary of Ellie Mae.
In addition to developing and implementing initiatives to help position, market and sell Ellie Mae’s compliance solutions, Sahi will also manage the company’s relationships with its direct Mavent clients and channel partners, evaluate both clients’ and prospects’ compliance needs and help develop solutions that address those unique needs. Sahi’s responsibilities include serving as an in-house compliance business development leader as well as training, advising and supporting internal business units that include sales, sales engineering, implementation and product management.

Also, TMS Funding, the wholesale residential lending channel of Total Mortgage Services has hired five additional Wholesale Account Executives, with 72 years of combined experience in developing new business relationships and supporting high quality mortgage brokers. These new hires increase the number of Wholesale Account Executives at TMS Funding to 12, servicing 10 states.

“TMS Funding is committed to building a team of account executives with the strongest possible combination of integrity, sales leadership, technological savvy and customer service skills in the wholesale lending business,” commented Lisa Schreiber, Executive Vice President of Wholesale Lending at TMS Funding. “As TMS Funding continues to grow through both high-quality originations and geographic expansion, we are focused on servicing our mortgage broker partners by utilizing best practice in sales, service and especially operations to maintain quality and create efficiencies to enhance their performance.”

Robert (Bob) Lukowski, Jr.

Mr. Lukowski has over 19 years of experience in the mortgage business, with the last 11 years spent as a wholesale account executive providing exceptional sales, service and training in the Illinois market.  Most recently, Mr. Lukowski was employed by Nationstar Mortgage as a Wholesale Account Executive where he managed a client base of mortgage brokers, helping them to expand volume in the most productive manner. Prior to this position, Mr. Lukowski was a Wholesale Account Executive with Wintrust Mortgage. During his career, Mr. Lukowski has also held Wholesale Account Executive positions with Fortes Residential Mortgage and National City Mortgage. Mr. Lukowski will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Illinois.

Craig Castronovo

Mr. Castronovo has 14 years of wholesale and correspondent mortgage lending experience in sales, underwriting, credit analysis and closing. Prior to joining TMS Funding, Mr. Castronovo was an Account Executive with Citigroup in the Consumer Lending Group where he managed sales as well as underwriting, pricing, risk and credit analysis in the wholesale/correspondent business channels throughout the New York area. Previously, Mr. Castronovo was employed by National City Bank (DBA as Commonwealth United Mortgage) as an Account Executive where he was responsible for sales for the wholesale/correspondent channel. During his career, Mr. Castronovo was also an Account Executive with JP Morgan Chase and a Mortgage Specialist with Capital Assets Mortgage. Mr. Castronovo will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in the New York Metro market.

Matthew Neeley

Mr. Neeley has over 10 years of experience in developing, managing and servicing clients in retail and wholesale mortgage lending. Prior to joining TMS Funding, Mr. Neeley was a Wholesale Account Executive with Nationstar Mortgage, managing mortgage broker relationships in Connecticut. Previously, Mr. Neeley was employed as a Community Mortgage Banker by Atlantic Home Loans, where he was responsible for all phases of the loan process. In addition, Mr. Neeley has worked for Vertice Lending, a Division of Wachovia Bank, as a Producing Sales Manager, Andy Ross Mortgage Planner as a Professional Mortgage Originator and American Home Mortgage as a Branch Manager. Mr. Neeley will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Connecticut.    

Scott Beckwith

Mr. Beckwith has over 14 years of experience in building, managing and overseeing originations teams in the mortgage lending marketplace. Most recently, Mr. Beckwith was employed as a Branch Manager with Proficio Mortgage Ventures in Atlanta, GA, where he built a new mortgage platform and was responsible for recruiting and managing a sales and processing center covering 48 states. Prior to this position, Mr. Beckwith was a Branch Manager with Residential Home Funding where he oversaw originations, processing and pre-underwriting of residential loan applications. Previously, Mr. Beckwith was President/Owner of East Shore Mortgage, where he built the company focusing on residential and commercial mortgages, with 35 loan originators operating in 11 states and with annual production of $200 million. Mr. Beckwith started his mortgage career with Total Mortgage Services as a Vice President in the company’s retail channel. Mr. Beckwith will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Georgia.

Tracey Ibsen

Ms. Ibsen has 15 years of wholesale lending experience in the Northeast Region and a proven ability in developing an expansive mortgage broker client base generating quality loan originations. For the last two years, Ms. Ibsen was employed by Home Savings of America as Senior Community Banker in Wholesale Mortgage Banking operating in New York and New Jersey. Here she developed and built relationships with both individual mortgage brokers and broker-centric businesses with a responsibility to manage the pipeline and promote quality pull-through levels. Prior to this position, Ms. Ibsen worked as a Senior Account Executive, Wholesale Mortgage Banking at Homecoming Financial, managing mortgage broker relationships and was recognized as a Top10 Salesperson with customer service satisfaction ratings consistently exceeding 95%. Previously, Ms. Ibsen was with Old Dominion Mortgage Company as an Account Executive, Processing Manager, Closing Dept., Post Closing and Compliance, where she grew her account base of Financial Planners, CPA’s and Attorney’s to over 100 participants. Ms. Ibsen will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in New Jersey.

Tech Vendors Staff Up For Success

As we heard yesterday, the real estate market is not recovering. Home prices hit a new low not seen in years. And with the shadow inventory just starting to hit the market, prices will likely fall further. Despite these declines more lenders and servicers realize the time to automate is now.

So, technology vendors are staffing up to meet this need. “As our market faces contraction and tighter regulation, companies are turning to paperless collaboration due to its inherent efficiencies and transparency.” said Greg Smith, vice president, Xerox Mortgage Services. “With the new additions to the Xerox Mortgage Services team, we can better help our clients take advantage of paperless collaboration and navigate through an increasingly demanding market environment.” PROGRESS has learned about new hires at Xerox, Prommis Solutions and Equifax. Here are the details:

To help with the company’s growth strategy, Xerox Mortgage Services has hired Tina Lindsey to serve as a sales executive for the western United States. Lindsey brings more than 25 years of mortgage banking experience, with a focus on document management and workflow software. Prior to Xerox Mortgage Services, Lindsey worked with Rekon Technologies to broaden their software to support additional document types and promoted eRecording capabilities to the mortgage loan servicing sector. In addition, Lindsey spent five years with Stewart Lender Services, selling business process outsourcing for originations and the secondary market.

The company also hired Whitney Boudreaux to serve as director of marketing. Boudreaux has worked with the Xerox Mortgage Services for nearly five years as a marketing consultant with Arketi Group, a business-to-business digital and public relations agency. Xerox Mortgage Services also added two resources, both with extensive mortgage experience, to its client services team to ensure clients continue to receive the high level of support they have come to expect.

In addition, Prommis Solutions, a provider of outsourced services for the mortgage default resolution process ranging from initial delinquency through REO settlement, has promoted five executives. Kevin Phelan, Brandy Green, Matthew Thigpen, Michelle Ansley and Steven Collier have all been promoted to new executive positions, giving them new responsibilities in support of the company’s growth plans for the remainder of 2011 and into 2012.

Kevin Phelan, in his new position as senior vice president of east coast foreclosure operations, will oversee all foreclosure functions for the states serviced by Prommis on the East Coast, including Florida. Kevin has been with Prommis for six years. He most recently managed the Georgia foreclosure team and was vice president of Statewide Tax & Title Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Prommis Solutions. Prior to joining Prommis, Kevin was a supervisor in the foreclosure department of McCalla Raymer, LLC, a provider of legal services to the mortgage industry.

Brandy Green, as vice president of REO operations, will assume executive responsibility for all eviction and title support services. Ms. Green will also continue to oversee the company’s REO settlement support business unit, which processes over 5,000 transactions per year. Brandy has been with the company since 2001, during which time she has been worked as a foreclosure specialist and operations manager of Statewide Tax & Title Services. She has a proven track record of developing and leading initiatives that have resulted in continued and significant growth.

Matthew Thigpen, senior vice president of accounting and finance, was previously managing the company’s financial planning and analysis team since joining the company in 2009. As part of this promotion, he will also now be responsible for the accounting department and its teams.

Michelle Ansley is now senior vice president of administrative services. Leading up to this role, Michelle was the company’s top human resources executive as vice president of human resources and shared services. She was overseeing all aspects of human resource management for the company’s 1000+ employees, and had been taking on increasing responsibilities, which included administrative services and the sales and marketing teams. She will now oversee all of these divisions under her new title.

Steven Collier, vice president of loss mitigation, was previously one of the company’s national accounts directors. In his new role, Steven will oversee daily operations, vision, strategy and management of Prommis Homeownership Solutions, a Prommis Solutions Company. Prior to his work with Prommis, he was assistant vice president with JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he managed the loss mitigation pre-closing team, the forbearance follow-up team and the inbound call group for the home equity division. His career includes additional executive positions with Saxon Mortgage, California-based Fremont Investment and Loan, and Citigroup.

Lastly, Equifax has named Jeff Flory and Jeff Schwartzel as Enterprise Business Directors. In this position, Flory and Schwartzel will be responsible for leading efforts to acquire new customer relationships for Equifax.

Flory brings more than 19 years of experience with 15 years focused in management to his position. Prior to joining Equifax, he served as Vice President of Business Development for Irvine, Calif.-based Financial Asset Services. Flory also served as Vice President and Area Sales Manager of the Wholesale Division at Scottsbluff, Neb.-based Aurora Loan Services where he more than tripled business revenue in eight months. Flory has an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With more than 12 years of industry experience, Schwartzel possesses extensive leadership and a broad range of sales and consulting skills. He most recently served as Business Development Executive for Shoreview, Minn.-based Deluxe Financial Services He also served as an account executive at companies such as St. Louis, Mo.-based Mortgage Information Source and Chicago-based Old Republic Credit Services, Senior Sales and Service Representative at Experian and Credit Analyst at Valley Media.

To all these new hires and promotions, PROGRESS says: Congratulations.

As Enterprise Business Directors, Flory will be focusing his efforts on the mortgage sector in the Southwest region while Schwartzel will be focusing on the credit union, non-profit and retail banking sectors in the Northwest region.

Experience Counts

I was riding my two boys to school today and it hit me, I’m getting old. Why do I say that? You know that you’re getting old when you don’t get the music that your kids like. In a lot of cases, in my opinion, the music today has lost something. It doesn’t tell a compelling story anymore.

It’s all about, well let’s not get into that here. Anyway, after I got them to school I put in my Phil Collins Greatest Hits CD and I was a very happy guy. There is something to having experience and knowledge. In fact, we at PROGRESS have learned of three new hires where experience played a key role. If you’re looking for a new hire, you really do need someone who has industry knowledge and a track record of delivering results. Here’s what I mean:

Vet Eyes Risk Mitigation

Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc., a provider of automated data and document validity assurance for the mortgage industry, has appointed Richard J. Downing as Executive Vice President of Sales. Downing is a veteran of the mortgage and consumer data industries, with more than 30 years of experience in working to deliver technology-based consumer lending solutions to residential and equity lenders.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Rich onto our team because he brings to the company an unparalleled understanding of the loan quality and risk management needs of the mortgage market,” said Brian K. Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer at Aklero. “He chose to work here because he recognized that we are challenging the traditional “low tech” methods of analyzing loan quality and risk by providing clients with proven technology that provides a compelling value proposition.”

Downing comes to Aklero with a successful record of business and sales strategy development, most recently as Senior Vice President at Kroll Factual Data. He also served as President of The Credit Network. He has extensive experience in managing strategic direction, sales planning, sales team development, and market opportunity analysis.

Downing also brings a record of successful new product and technology-based sales strategies. He has developed and executed national sales and strategic account plans and customer retention programs as well as new business opportunities through the development of technology partnerships and platform integrations.

REO Firm Adds An Industry Leader

REO Allegiance, a national property preservation and eviction field services firms in the U.S., has hired Brian Daily to serve as Vice President of Business Development. Daily joins REO Allegiance with over 25 years of executive level experience throughout the mortgage industry spanning origination, servicing, and default management.

“Brian is an excellent addition to our team and I believe he will accomplish great things for both our company and our clients,” said Lisa Sadaoui, President and Chief Executive Officer of REO Allegiance. “Our firm is honored to attract seasoned executives from around the industry, which speaks to some of our significant growth strides in recent years. Brian will help us continue our expansion by leveraging his deep knowledge and vast industry experience.”

Prior to joining REO Allegiance, Daily served as Vice President of National sales for Foreclosure Management Company, a nationwide network of attorneys specializing in default management and loss mitigation for mortgage servicing firms. Daily also served as Regional Director at Accredited Home Lenders, overseeing operations in both default servicing and originations. Daily spent 15 years with Bank of America as Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations, directly supervising west coast operations in the consumer finance group.

Hedging Firm To Grow Sales

MCT Trading, Inc. (MCT), a hedging and risk management firm, has announced that Rhonda Beck has joined the firm as regional sales director for its Charlotte, North Carolina office, and will lead the company’s expansion in the Southeast Unites States. Beck holds the coveted Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) distinction and brings more than 20 years industry experience to MCT. She has a history of forging key relationships with lenders and a long-standing track record of growing revenues.

“Rhonda adds considerable experience and value to MCT, and will help us satisfy an increasing demand for HALO, our proprietary hedging and loan sales optimization program,” said Curtis Richins, president of MCT. “Her informed and consultative approach to clients creates a bond of trust and, ultimately, leads to stellar results. We are lucky to have her on board and excited about the deep industry knowledge she brings to the table.”

Most recently, Ms. Beck was the vice president of mortgage warehousing at Southwest Securities, FSB, where she built a territory from the ground up, significantly increasing volume and net income month-over-month. Ms. Beck has also held a number of different VP-level positions at IndyMac Bank. Prior to that, she spent 10 years with CitiMortgage’s correspondent division.

If you know of any new hires, promotions or layoffs that you’d like us to cover, please e-mail all the information to our chairman and founder Tony Garritano at tony@progressinlending.com.

Beefing Up Wholesale

As we learn about new hires we are going to bring that news straight to you. We have heard that TMS Funding has hired six new Wholesale Account Executives, all with successful track records in developing new business relationships and supporting high quality mortgage brokers.

“We are extremely pleased to have hired such an experienced group of mortgage production professionals that will have an immediate impact on expanding TMS Funding in many key markets and building out our national lending platform,” commented Lisa Schreiber, Executive Vice President of Wholesale Lending at TMS Funding.  “TMS Funding is focused on hiring the best available talent who understand the importance of technology in the wholesale lending process and the need for exceptional service, which can empower our broker partners to operate more efficiently and profitably.”

Ingrid Helfgott

Ms. Helfgott has 30 years of experience in the mortgage business, including sales, processing, and underwriting and management responsibilities.  Most recently, Ms. Helfgott was employed by Home Savings of America as an Account Executive concentrating on Bergen County, Central New Jersey, Westchester, Upstate and Down State New York as well as Connecticut.  Prior to this position, Ms. Helfgott was an Account Executive with Homecomings Financial working throughout New Jersey and New York.  During her career, Ms. Helfgott also held various production, sales and underwriting positions with SIB Mortgage Corporation, Alliance Funding and American Funding LTD.  Ms. Helfgott will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in New York.

Mark Karanovich

Mr. Karanovich has 28 years of mortgage lending industry experience and a proven ability of developing sales opportunities and providing exceptional service in new and existing markets.  For the last two years, Mr. Karanovich was a Senior Account Executive with NetMore America, where he successfully built out a new sales territory from 5 to 65 accounts in less than 24 months.  Previously, Mr. Karanovich was a Senior Account Executive at VERTICE Lending, a Division of Wachovia Securities and American Brokers Conduit, the wholesale lending channel of American Home Mortgage.  Prior to these positions, Mr. Karanovich held positions in production, operations, sales and branch management at American Ideal Mortgage, Maryland Home Mortgage, Inland Mortgage and Chase Home Mortgage.  Mr. Karanovich will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Virginia.

Samantha Hay

Ms. Hay has over 20 years of wholesale lending experience including origination, closing, and auditing.  Most recently, Ms. Hay was employed as a Product/Technology Consultant with AmTrust Mortgage Banking, where she managed broker and correspondent clients in the Central Florida region.  Prior to this position, Ms. Hay worked for wholesale lenders Caliber Funding, Sierra Pacific Mortgage and American Brokers Conduit as a Senior Account Executive, managing and growing both broker and correspondent relationships in Florida.  Previously, Ms. Hays worked for Ivanhoe Financial, SunTrust and Princeton Financial.  Ms. Hay will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Florida.

Kathleen McLaughlin

Ms. McLaughlin has over 20 years of wholesale lending experience and a successful track record of servicing, educating and training mortgage brokers to expand their business.  For the last three years Ms. McLaughlin was a Wholesale Account Executive with EverBank Wholesale, where she effectively managed a large client base of mortgage brokers, while helping them to expand volume in the most productive manner.  Previously, Ms. McLaughlin was a Senior Wholesale Account Executive at Bank of America Mortgage and a Wholesale Account Representative with North American Mortgage Company.  Ms. McLaughlin will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Virginia.

Alan Caldwell

Mr. Caldwell has 19 years of experience in wholesale, correspondent and retail mortgage lending.  Most recently, Mr. Caldwell was employed by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage as a Wholesale Account Executive managing mortgage broker relationships in Maryland with a focus on both conforming FHA and jumbo loans. Previously, Mr. Caldwell was a Wholesale Account Executive at US Bank Home Mortgage and American Brokers Conduit.  During his career, Mr. Caldwell also held production positions at Aurora Loan Services and First Nationwide Mortgage.   Mr. Caldwell will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in Maryland.

Patrick Creighton

Mr. Creighton has 16 years of experience in developing, managing and servicing clients in the mortgage lending marketplace.  Prior to joining TMS Funding, Mr. Creighton was a Sales Manager with Archer Capital Corp, where he focused on business development and troubleshooting strategies and increased production by 400%.  Previously, Mr. Creighton was employed as an Account Executive by both First Magnus Financial Corporation and Argent Mortgage Company and an Area Sales Manager (Long Island, NY) with Countrywide Mortgage.   Mr. Caldwell will be focused on building broker relationships and servicing brokers in New York.

If you know of any new hires, promotions or layoffs that you’d like us to cover, please e-mail all the information to our chairman and founder Tony Garritano at tony@progressinlending.com.

New Valuation And REO Names

We’ve now heard from several economists that a double dip may be in the works for the real estate market. Home prices are at very low levels, not seem in months and most don’t see them getting better. Even FHA, the saving grace for nonprime borrowers, is reporting a 27% decline in origination in February as compared to just one month prior.

Despite the fact that market stabilization and recovery may still be far off, we at PROGRESS in Lending are still hearing about more new hires. This is good news for sure. In this edition of “On The Move” we report that a default automation player has made a key hire and a valuation provider has done so, as well.

Vet Moves To Default Shop

Default Resource, one of the nation’s preeminent providers of REO management, valuation and loss mitigation services, has hired James Zeldin as executive vice president and chief sales officer. Zeldin brings more than 20 years’ experience in default management, origination services, REO management and business process consulting to Default Resource, where he will be responsible for developing and executing the firm’s strategic sales initiatives.

Prior to joining Default Resource, Zeldin was the senior vice president of business development for Altisource Portfolio Solutions and its predecessor company, Ocwen Financial Corporation. While at Altisource, he was responsible for designing and developing multiple business lines spanning origination and default services. Zeldin previously served as managing director of operations and client services for a division of Lender Processing Services (LPS) and holds an MBA in real estate and finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Valuation Player Hires

BrokerPriceOpinion.com, a nationwide provider of customized valuation solutions that apply analytics and client-specific rules and criteria, named Chris McLain as director of business development. McLain will manage sales, re-seller relationships, strategic partnerships and business development for BrokerPriceOpinion.com, which has developed web-based tools to streamline the valuation process. He will be based in Gainesville, Florida, providing the company with an east coast representative as it accelerates its growth initiatives.

McLain brings to BrokerPriceOpinion.com more than 15 years of experience in the mortgage and real estate industries, specializing in collateral risk management. Previously McLain worked in national sales as an automated valuation model (AVM) specialist with MDA Lending Solutions/DataQuick and served as director of strategic accounts for Veros, a predictive technology and collateral risk management software company. He also founded and operated HomeAdz.com, a for-sale-by-owner website and marketing company, which was acquired by a real estate firm.

If you know of any new hires, promotions or layoffs that you’d like us to cover, please e-mail all the information to our chairman and founder Tony Garritano at tony@progressinlending.com.

Big New Hires Shake Things Up

We’ve been hearing a lot about promotions and new hires. That’s great news. Because we’ve been getting such a huge volume of news items like this, we decided to start this new section. We will update it as we hear of new hires, promotions and layoffs.

This week in particular, there were several very high-profile new hires. We saw a doc vendor look to a compliance expert, a default specialist bring on an industry veteran and the MBA bring on an industry heavy. You may have heard these stories elsewhere, but we’ll put them all into perspective for you. Here’s our take on these new hires:

Curing Defaults

IndiSoft, a technology development firm that focuses on systems for the default services industry, announced that Arvind G. Chitale has joined the company’s advisory board. Chitale, CFO of Washington, D.C.-based Rodman’s Discount Stores, will advise IndiSoft in business and financial matters.

Chitale has spent 19 years as CFO with Rodman’s and previously he was director of corporate planning for Anta Corp. (NYSE listed) and manager of business and financial analysis for Diamond Shamrock Corp. (NYSE listed) in Cleveland.
“This is an opportune time for companies such as IndiSoft to firmly establish themselves in the financial industry,” Chitale explained. “As the economy readjusts itself, more companies need to consider how to maximize their current position in the market and what internal adjustments they may need to make to be successful years from now.”

Tracking Compliance

DocMagic, Inc., a provider of compliant loan document solutions, announced that Laurie Spira has joined the company as chief compliance officer. In this role, Laurie is largely responsible for ensuring that state, federal and investor-level compliance changes are analyzed and implemented into DocMagic’s Web-based platform, which audits and detects errors with loan transaction data. Laurie will also work to establish new and expanded compliance audits, oversee DocMagic’s numerous high-cost tests, assist in maintaining DocMagic’s extensive electronic forms library and shepherd various projects for DocMagic’s customers. In addition, she will be a key contributor to The Compliance Wizard, a monthly newsletter that keeps DocMagic’s clients apprised of significant compliance changes and trends.

Most recently, Laurie held the position of interim director of mortgage compliance at Kinecta Federal Credit Union, one of the nation’s largest credit unions, with approximately $3.5 billion in assets and nearly 222,000 members nationwide. While at Kinecta, she was part of a team tasked with expanding Kinecta’s wholesale mortgage lending business into 17 new states in 2010. Prior to Kinecta, Laurie was vice president and senior compliance officer at ResMAE Mortgage Corporation, a wholesale specialty residential mortgage lender and servicer. Before ResMAE, Laurie was the assistant vice president and senior project manager of home loans and insurance services implementations at Washington Mutual. She also held the position of assistant vice president of policies and procedures at Long Beach Mortgage.

Change At The MBA

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that John A. Courson, the association’s President and CEO, will be leaving the association, effective June 1, 2011. Courson will be replaced by David H. Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in May. Stevens had announced earlier that he would be resigning from his position at HUD. He will leave HUD on March 31, 2011.

David Stevens comes to MBA after nearly two years leading FHA through the same tumultuous times. During his tenure, Commissioner Stevens implemented a myriad of changes to improve FHA’s risk management to ensure the programs future viability and to help FHA weather the storm of increased losses. At FHA, Stevens has direct responsibility for oversight and administration of the FHA insurance portfolio, which includes multifamily housing, insured health care facilities and well over 20% of mortgages in the domestic single family market.

Prior to being confirmed at HUD, Stevens had been President and Chief Operating Officer of Long and Foster Companies, the nation’s largest, privately-held real estate firm. He started his professional career with a 16-year tenure at the World Savings Bank, where he began as a loan officer. He later served briefly as Executive Vice President at Wells Fargo, and spent seven years as Senior Vice President at Freddie Mac, where he created and ran the small lender channel.

Many technology executives that PROGRESS in Lending spoke to are happy to see Courson go. He was not viewed as being very technology friendly having laid off the entire Industry Technology Group within the MBA and having decided to outsource the management of MISMO to MERS. Rumors also circulated that he wanted to do away with the MBA’s annual technology conference, but thankfully that show is still going on.

Many are split on the good Stevens will do at the MBA. His supporters say that he will give the MBA needed clout and his detractors say that he did not do enough to modernize FHA, especially when it comes to FHA’s acceptance of electronic signatures. We’ll keep you posted.

If you know of any new hires, promotions or layoffs that you’d like us to cover, please e-mail all the information to our chairman and founder Tony Garritano at tony@progressinlending.com.

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