Embrace Home Loans has announced Kim Castiglioni has been named vice president of market growth and national condominium program manager. She is responsible for expanding the company’s retail mortgage sales team in the Southeast U.S., developing strategic alliances with prospective clients, and leading Embrace’s growth strategy for condominium and cooperative property financing nationwide. Castiglioni is a 30+-year mortgage industry veteran. She spent the bulk of her career at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, most recently as the company’s vice president, national condominium manager.
Plaza Home Mortgage has announced that Michael H. Wilson has joined the company as chief information officer. In this role, Wilson will be responsible for strategic planning, oversight and the continuous improvement of Plaza’s technology activities. In addition, he will oversee Plaza’s data center, drive development and implementation of new systems and applications, ensure that Plaza’s hardware, software, and web systems are efficient and secure and oversee IT. He joins Plaza from Zense, a technology start-up he co-founded. Prior to Zense, Wilson was vice president of IT operations, chief information security officer of Impac Mortgage Corp. He was also previously senior vice president of IT operations for loanDepot and vice president and chief information officer at Option One Mortgage. He holds a bachelor of science degree in applied math/engineering system sciences from UCLA and a master of science degree in electrical engineering from Loyola Marymount University.
Guaranteed Rate has named Sara Koelzer as area manager and a senior vice president of mortgage lending. Koelzer joins Guaranteed Rate with 20 years of mortgage industry experience and will be based out of the company’s Bozeman, Montana, branch. She was previously a home mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage from 2008 to 2021. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Montana State University.
Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. (DKMC) has announced that Chris Knapp has joined the company as executive vice president of business development. Based in the company’s Downers Grove, Illinois, headquarters, Knapp will contribute to recruiting and expansion efforts, help improve loan origination and operational efficiencies, and advise the leadership team on strategic decisions while also continuing his career as a top loan originator. Prior to joining DKMC, Knapp served in executive roles for two of the nation’s other top mortgage lenders. Before that, he owned and led his own mortgage company for more than eight years. Knapp graduated from Miami University in 1995 with degrees in marketing and business administration/management.
Merchants Capital today announces an expansion of the tax credit equity team with two senior hires in the acquisitions and underwriting divisions. Laurie DiBona joins Merchants Capital as vice president of acquisitions in Boston. In her new role at Merchants, DiBona will manage relationships with top affordable housing developers in the United States, negotiating and structuring lower tier partnership agreements. DiBona previously spent 12 years in the equity acquisitions and asset management divisions at Boston Capital and R4 Capital. Lisa Zebro joins Merchants Capital as vice president and deputy chief equity underwriter in New York. Lisa was previously a manager in Ernst & Young’s tax credit equity division. In her new role at Merchants Capital, Zebro is responsible for underwriting lower tier and upper tier investments in tax credit equity funds sponsored by Merchants Capital.
Greystone has announced that Adam Lipkin has joined Greystone Capital Advisors as a vice president. Lipkin has worked in the commercial real estate finance industry for nearly two decades, and joins Greystone from Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate LLC, where he served as executive director. Prior to that role, he was a vice president at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital. Earlier in his career, Lipkin worked in capital advisory with HFF and a subsequent boutique advisory team, Olympian Capital Group. Prior to his advisory work, Lipkin served at Ernst & Young in the New York Real Estate Advisory Group.
