Better Home & Finance Holding Co., the parent company of mortgage lender Better Mortgage Corp., has appointed Hugh Frater to its board of directors. A veteran investor and housing finance leader, Frater brings decades of experience from his previous roles as CEO of Fannie Mae, CEO and chairman of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage and as a founding partner at BlackRock. In his new role, he will apply his expertise in capital markets and corporate leadership to help guide Better’s long-term strategy and the scaling of its AI-native Tinman platform.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced that Jill Ranck has joined the association as director of associate membership. Ranck’s previous experience spans roles in origination, servicing and compliance, most recently as a vice president and product manager at PNC Bank and as chief operating officer of strategy, technology and change management at SimpliFi Mortgage. In her new position, she will act as the primary contact for MBA’s associate members, focusing on supporting their business efforts and executing strategies to strengthen their engagement with the association.
The National Housing Conference (NHC) has appointed four new members to its board of governors: Seth Appleton of U.S. Mortgage Insurers; Teresa Bryce Bazemore, former president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; Sharon Wilson Géno of the National Multifamily Housing Council; and Debra Still, retired CEO and vice chair of Pulte Financial Services.
GreenBox Loans has appointed Will Fisher as chief production officer. Bringing more than 20 years of mortgage industry experience and specialized focus in the non-qualified mortgage sector, he joins the company after holding senior leadership roles at Kind Lending, LoanStream Mortgage and Citadel Servicing Corp., among others. In his new role, Fisher will lead the company’s national production strategy and sales initiatives, focusing on expanding the wholesale channel, refining the non-QM lending process and developing proprietary loan solutions for brokers.
Evergreen Home Loans has promoted three company veterans to leadership roles. Tyler McMahon has been elevated to regional manager and Cole Grode and Amber Page have been promoted to area sales managers.
ServiceLink has added four experienced mortgage professionals to its origination division to bolster lender partnerships, origination efficiency and facilitate client growth. John Erath, returning to the company with 14 years of industry experience, joins as a national sales executive to help lenders improve operational efficiency. Amanda Marin, who brings over 15 years of sales and client-facing experience, most recently with ValueLink, will serve as a national sales executive, focusing on process improvement and technology adoption.
ServiceLink has also hired Zach Schellenberger, an appraisal management specialist since 2012, who has been named a national sales executive tasked with accelerating property valuations for lenders. Finally, Cynthia Pazos has been appointed national account executive, bringing three decades of mortgage banking experience at Bank of America, Fannie Mae and other firms.
Sunward Federal Credit Union has promoted Jamie Aguilar to chief lending officer and Casey Bresnahan to senior vice president of commercial lending. Aguilar, who has worked at Sunward for nearly two years, steps into the newly created C-suite position to oversee all lending operations, including commercial, consumer, indirect, mortgage and loan servicing. Bresnahan, stepping in for the retired Dan Cover after nearly a decade with the credit union, is tasked with overseeing the institution’s broad commercial lending portfolio to develop new relationships and deepen existing partnerships.
Fidelity National Financial has appointed Jeffrey Heighton to its agency operations as president of enterprise solutions. Heighton, who previously served as president of title and escrow at Compass, will partner with title agents across the company’s agency network to drive growth, improve financial performance and strengthen operational scalability.
Stewart Lender Services has appointed Nathan Bossers as group senior vice president of national title and settlement. Bringing extensive leadership experience and a strong background in operational execution within the title sector, Bossers will oversee the company’s centralized title and settlement operations in a newly created executive position.
