The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) officially has a new permanent director, with Sandra Thompson confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 49-46. Thompson had been serving as acting director of the agency since June 2021. Thompson, who was previously the deputy director of the FHFA’s Division of Housing Mission and Goals, was nominated for the permanent director position this past December.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) promoted Adam DeSanctis to vice president of communications. In his elevated role, he will help shape MBA’s public affairs strategy and lead all aspects of media relations, member communications and video content development. DeSanctis joined MBA in 2018 as director of public affairs. Prior to joining MBA, he served in various positions in media relations and communications at Freddie Mac, the National Association of Realtors, Navy Federal Credit Union and TD Bank. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising from the University of Maine.
Cenlar announced that Steven Taylor has joined the company as senior vice president and chief information officer. Prior to joining Cenlar, he was president and CEO of his own consulting firm. Before he was a consultant, he held multiple roles at Fidelity National Financial and Fidelity Information Services, most recently as an account and technical delivery executive.
Inlanta Mortgage announced that Paul Buege has been promoted to CEO. Buege has been serving as Inlanta’s president and chief operating officer, and will retain these responsibilities in addition to his new role. A 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Buege joined Inlanta in 2013 as the company’s COO and has served as president since 2018. Previously, Buege served in senior and C-level positions at multiple nationwide independent mortgage banks. He began his career at Fleet Mortgage Corp.
JMAC Lending announced the hiring of Bob Bordenet as regional sales manager for the Central and Eastern U.S. regions. Bordenet, who has more than 25 years of experience in wholesale mortgage lending, will oversee a team of account executives in his regions. JMAC also announced the appointment of Carol Commiskey as senior account executive for the San Francisco Bay Area. She brings more than 30 years of experience as a wholesale and correspondent lender. The company also appointed Reija Eden as a senior account executive for Los Angeles and Orange County. Eden brings more than 24 years of experience in wholesale and correspondent lending.
BBX Logistics Properties, a division of BBX Capital Real Estate (which is focused on infill speculative and build-to-suit industrial real estate development) announced the appointment of Pablo Martinez as vice president of acquisitions. Most recently, Martinez served as a financial consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to that, he served as investment associate for ESJ Capital Partners. Additionally, Martinez has held various finance and investment positions at Florida East Coast Industries, the City of Coconut Creek and the City of Hollywood. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Florida International University, and an MBA in finance from Nova Southeastern University.
Brennan Investment Group announced the promotion of Joe Macchione from senior leasing associate to vice president of leasing. In his new capacity, he will head up leasing for Brennan’s Midwest region. Macchione has been with Brennan for seven years, starting his career as an accounting analyst before moving into a role as a leasing associate. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in political science and is currently pursuing an MBA at the same institution.
Citi Mortgage announced that Sandy Furlow, business operational risk management director for the company’s mortgage originations oversight team, was selected to participate in the Minority Depository Institution Rotational Program. Through the program, Furlow will be on “loan” with a one-year temporary assignment to Industrial Bank Mortgage. She began her career with Citi in 1987 and has held a variety of roles in numerous departments, all of which have been within the mortgage business.
