Pennymac has announced that Mark Elbaum will assume the roles of chief capital markets officer at Pennymac Financial Services, Inc. (PSFI), and chief investment officer for Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust (PMT) on an interim basis. Elbaum, who joined Pennymac in April of last year, will take the positions after the departure of William Chang, who is stepping down to pursue other interests. Elbaum has held various leadership roles at previous companies, including Homepoint Financial, Bank of America and Countrywide.
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation has announced the recent returns of several loan officers. Mike Bendebba, based in Frederick, Maryland, returned to the company in September; he was most recently with Movement Mortgage and has prior experience at First Home Mortgage, Citibank and Bank of America. Caren Hildinger, based in Belton, Texas, also recently returned to Fairway after 15 months at a bank, while Alejandro Juarez, a branch manager from Austin, made his way back to the company after a stint at LoanPeople. Prior to first joining Fairway in 2019, he also held positions at American Mortgage & Equity Consultants and SWBC Mortgage. Traci Sansinena, branch manager in Boise, Idaho, returned to Fairway in September; she was most recently with Synergy One Lending and has previous experience at Guild Mortgage.
Acrisure has announced that Robin Benoit will serve as the company’s chief people officer. Benoit was serving in the role in an interim capacity since March 2024. She will oversee the strategic direction of Acrisure’s human resources functions and people strategy, including talent acquisition, employee development, total rewards, and organizational culture. Prior to Acrisure, Benoit led her own consultancy practice and previously held senior human resources positions with State Street Corporation, Alternate Solutions Health Network and other companies. She earned her master of business administration degree from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rhode Island College.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has announced that Ken Wingert has been named its new chief advocacy officer. Wingert will lead the association’s advocacy efforts, which include its Federal Government Affairs; BUILD-PAC, NAHB’s political action committee; State and Local Government Affairs; Housing Finance; Legal Advocacy; and Regulatory Affairs departments. Wingert joins NAHB from Monument Advocacy, where he led the group’s financial services practice. His previous positions include serving as the head of Federal Government Relations at Zillow, as well as lobbying positions for the National Association of Realtors and the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Gate House Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based mortgage advisory and strategic consulting firm, today announced that Steve Powel, former CEO and co-founder of Situs (now SitusAMC), has joined the firm as senior advisor. Powel brings 38 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. His other roles include serving as executive vice president and head of strategy at NuBridge, where he oversees its commercial lending division.
