Guild Mortgage announced the appointment of Lamont Watson as the company’s first vice president of diverse talent development. In the newly created role, Watson will spearhead Guild’s initiatives to recruit, develop and empower a diverse workforce while fostering an inclusive environment. Watson spent the past 11 years with Guild serving clients in South Carolina, managing five branches. Before joining Guild, Watson was a loan officer with JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.
Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. announced the promotion of Coleen Bogle to chief marketing and growth officer. Bogle has led the company’s marketing department for the past eight years, and in her new role, she will take on additional duties overseeing growth and recruiting for the company. Bogle has 15 years of mortgage marketing management experience. She joined Draper and Kramer in September 2015 and was promoted to chief marketing officer in April 2022.
Cenlar FSB announced that Tom Donatacci has joined the company as senior vice president and investor relations officer. He will be responsible for strengthening relationships with Cenlar’s stakeholders, primarily agency investors, shareholders, clients and ratings agencies. Prior to joining Cenlar, Donatacci was executive vice president of business development for The Money Source Inc. He was also chief of staff at Impac Holdings, executive vice president of special servicing at Selene Finance and executive vice president of Clayton Holdings. He holds an MBA from Seton Hall University and a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University.
FirstClose announced that Dan Kellett joined the company as chief technology officer. Kellett will be responsible for overseeing the company’s IT and strategy spanning applications, data, cybersecurity and infrastructure. He has more than 10 years of experience as a software engineer and leader of development teams in software-as-a-service organizations. Most recently, he was the head of technology and architecture at Blink UX, and previously, he was CTO of MarcomCentral. Kellett received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from San Diego State University.
JLL Capital Markets announced that Bill Baumann has joined the firm’s multihousing team as a managing director in the Chicago office. In his new role, Baumann will focus on apartment investment sales and financing deals in Chicago and the Midwest, representing multifamily housing owners and developers. Baumann brings two decades of commercial real estate experience, most recently as principal and managing broker of Monarch Realty Partners, which he co-founded in 2016. Baumann earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his MBA from Northwestern University.
Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing & Escrow appointed industry veteran Andrew Bramhall to serve in the role of senior vice president and national commercial underwriting counsel. He will be asked to help grow the company’s established commercial services division, as well as support clients and facilitate complex transactions. Bramhall has nearly two decades of experience underwriting commercial real estate transactions. He has served as national counsel for Chicago Title’s New York and Washington, D.C., national commercial services direct offices, as well as First American’s Washington, D.C., national commercial services operation. Bramhall is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the University of Baltimore School of Law.
The Oakleaf Group announced the appointment of David Steel as managing director of risk management and litigation support advisory. In his new role, Steel will spearhead the development of Oakleaf’s risk-management practice and drive the expansion of the company’s litigation support advisory business. Prior to joining Oakleaf, he served as a consultant for American Overseas Re and as chief risk officer for a major U.S. bank’s life and annuity reinsurance venture.
