The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that John Hedlund has been nominated to serve as MBA’s vice chairman for the 2026 membership year and will assume the post at the association’s annual convention and expo in October. Per MBA bylaws, he is expected to become chairman-elect for 2027 and chairman beginning in 2028. Hedlund is the current vice chairman of ICE Mortgage Technology and formerly served as chief operating officer of AmeriHome Mortgage Co., a company he co-founded.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced the appointment of Leslie Nettleford-Freeman to the new position of associate general counsel, vice president of legal affairs and brand protection. She previously served as associate general counsel at AARP, where she was involved with shutting down fraudulent websites and unauthorized entities claiming to offer AARP discounts or partnerships.
NAR also announced the appointment of Andowah Newton as vice president of litigation and associate general counsel. Newton previously served as vice president, legal affairs and head of litigation at LVMH, the multinational conglomerate whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Sephora and Tiffany & Co.
LoanDepot announced that Anthony Hsieh, the company’s founder and chairman, has been appointed permanent CEO after serving in an interim capacity since the departure of Frank Martell on June 4. Hsieh previously held the CEO position since the company’s establishment in 2010 until April 2022. He plans to add several executives to the mortgage company’s leadership team within his first 90 days as chief executive, according to a press release.
Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF), a provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries, announced the appointment of Gregg N. Sofer as executive vice president, deputy chief legal officer and chief compliance officer. Sofer previously served as counsel to U.S. Attorney General William Barr for national security and criminal matters and was appointed by Barr in 2020 as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.
Founders Bank announced the addition of Ted Johnson as senior vice president of commercial and industrial and government contract lending. With over three decades of industry experience, Johnson will be tasked with driving lending growth in the northern Virginia market.
Founders also announced that Ahad Azhar has joined the company as vice president of treasury management, where he will lead the development of customized treasury management solutions designed to support businesses in achieving strategic growth.
Title insurance and real estate settlement services provider Williston Financial Group (WFG) announced the appointment of Ryan Ozonian to the newly created role of senior director of innovation and AI. Ozonian will be tasked with advancing artificial intelligence and automation initiatives as part of WFG’s larger enterprise technology program led by Marty Frame, president of WFG affiliate MyHome.
Civista Bancshares Inc. announced the promotion of Robert L. Katitus to senior vice president and chief lending officer. Katitus, who will hold the same positions at subsidiary Civista Bank, succeeds Charles A. Parcher in the roles following Parcher’s appointment as president earlier this year. Katitus joined Civista in 2010 and previously held commercial lending leadership roles at Park View Federal Savings Bank.
New American Funding (NAF) has named Tim Sorenson as divisional executive vice president for the Southwest region. Sorenson comes from Rate, where he held the same job title, and was previously senior vice president and director of residential lending at Lutheran Burbank Savings.
Rate announced the addition of Brian Bloete as a vice president of mortgage lending at its Montville, N.J., branch. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Bloete previously served as a senior loan officer at NJ Lenders Corp. and vice president of sales at Family First Funding.
Rate also announced the return of Brad Rasof as a senior vice president of mortgage lending after a more than two-year stint at CrossCountry Mortgage. Based in Chicago, Rasof previously worked at Rate for more than 13 years, beginning in 2009.
Planet Home Lending has named Vincent Ortiz as area sales manager of the company’s southeastern U.S. footprint. Based in central Florida, Ortiz has nearly 25 years of mortgage industry experience, most recently as an area sales manager at Guild Mortgage.
Planet also tapped the father-son team of Don and Corey Miller to help expand Planet’s national footprint into Georgia, Missouri, Arizona and the Carolinas, with additional expansion plans in the works for the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions.
Planet also announced it has named Chris Carr as area sales manager in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area in Minnesota. With previous lending experience at Union Home Mortgage Corp. and Rate (then called Guaranteed Rate), Carr will lead regional growth efforts in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Merchants Bank announced the hiring of Jim Wilson as a mortgage loan originator for lending division Merchants Mortgage. Based out of Illinois, Wilson has more than 30 years of experience at firms including Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, American Mortgage and U.S. Bank. He also founded the independent brokerage firm The Mortgage Resource Inc.
ServiceLink announced that Aaron Fain has returned to the company in the role of vice president, national sales executive. Fain, who worked at ServiceLink from 2006 to 2010, recently was a top sales producer at Boston National Title and has held positions at Old Republic Title, Title365 and Altisource.
Texas-based Motto Mortgage Triumph announced the additions of Thanh Nguyen and Carennia Lee as the third and fourth loan originators to join the company since its founding in 2024. Nguyen previously served as a loan originator at Absolute Mortgage & Lending and Lee worked in the accounting department for a property management firm.
Motto Mortgage Collective, which opened in 2023, announced that Cami Anthony has joined the company as a new loan originator. Anthony, who previously was a senior loan originator at Global Credit Union, is the fourth originator to join the office based in Everett, Wash.
Digital lending platform provider MeridianLink announced it has appointed Denise Cox as chief customer officer, where she will oversee the company’s services, support and customer success teams. Cox has more than two decades of executive experience at companies including Olo, Omnicell, Cisco and NetApp.
Friday Harbor, creator of an AI-driven platform for loan officers announced the additions of Chris Simms as head of strategic partnerships and Gregory Buehler as founding product engineer. Simms, the current president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of St. Louis, has served in senior leadership roles at Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, First Integrity Mortgage Services and Pulaski Bank. Buehler has more than 10 years of experience in product development at early-stage startups in the Seattle area.
