The Housing Policy Council has appointed Alexander “Sasha” Jackson as senior vice president for market structure. Jackson, a former U.S. Department of the Treasury official with more than 15 years of experience in the housing industry, will focus on enhancing housing finance policy and improving market transparency.
Benchmark Mortgage has appointed Norman Koenigsberg as CEO. Koenigsberg, who brings decades of executive leadership experience in mortgage lending and technology, previously founded First Choice Loan Services Inc. in 2008, where he served as president and CEO until its sale in 2020.
Planet Home Lending has hired Kris Kehl as a mortgage loan officer to expand its retail footprint in California. Kehl, who brings more than 22 years of industry experience to the team, will focus on serving homebuyers and collaborating with real estate professionals.
In addition, Planet Home Lending added Jeff Hill as a branch manager, expanding the lender’s presence in Florida. Hill has experience across purchase and refinance transactions, from construction to non-agency lending.
Brokers First Funding has appointed Steven Winokur as chief marketing officer. Winokur, a mortgage marketing veteran with decades of experience, previously served as vice president of marketing for the third-party origination channel at Carrington Mortgage Services.
Polunsky Beitel Green LLP, a Texas-based residential mortgage law firm, announced that Kimberly Friesenhahn has joined its business development team in San Antonio, where she will work closely with attorneys and client service teams to grow the firm’s national mortgage lending client base. Friesenhahn, who has more than 20 years of experience in residential real estate and mortgage lending, most recently served as director of residential real estate business development at Broadway National Bank.
Attom has appointed Kara Taylor as chief growth officer. Taylor, who previously served as the company’s chief marketing officer, will now oversee customer acquisition and revenue execution, consolidating marketing, sales and revenue operations under a single executive mandate to drive scalable growth.
Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group announced the appointment of Robyn Zacharias as chief marketing officer. Zacharias, who led a successful advertising agency for more than 20 years, will oversee Atlantic Bay’s marketing, brand and communications strategy.
Class Valuation, a Michigan-based real estate appraisal management company, announced it has appointed Chris Flynn as chief operating officer. Flynn, who joined the company in April 2025 as chief data officer, previously served as head of product and strategy at First American Data & Analytics.
Union Home Mortgage has appointed George Dover as vice president of manufactured and new construction lending. Dover, who brings 30 years of mortgage banking experience to the role, previously co-founded Cascade Financial Services in 1999 and served as its president until 2024.
HighTechLending has hired Gina Donaldson and David Yslas as account executives for its EquitySelect home equity line of credit platform. Donaldson and Yslas, who bring decades of combined experience in home equity and non-qualified mortgage lending, previously worked as account executives at First Tech Federal Credit Union.
Gold Capital Partners has appointed Jim Adams as president of GCP Title and Escrow. Adams, a leader in the title, escrow and real estate technology industry with more than 26 years of experience, will lead the organization’s growth strategy and operations.
DocMagic announced that Brian Pannell and David Garrett have been elected to help lead Community of Practice (CoP) work groups within the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) for the 2026-27 term. Pannell, chief e-services executive at DocMagic, will serve as vice chair of MISMO’s Digital Interoperability CoP. Garrett, the company’s director of integration and technical services, will serve as vice chair of the eMortgage CoP at MISMO.
The Mortgage Bankers Association has presented Matt Rocco with the 2026 Commercial Real Estate Finance Distinguished Service Award. Rocco, the president of Colliers Debt & Structured Finance and a former MBA chairman, was recognized for his sustained contributions to the commercial real estate finance industry and his leadership within the association.
