HOME EQUITY LENDING NEWS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Head of Product at Unlock Technologies
A fintech-focused executive with a background in both large financial institutions and startups has taken over product leadership at Unlock Technologies, a home-equity investment originator. A LinkedIn post from the Tempe, Arizona-based company indicated Aaron Traub has taken on the role.
Traub's product management experience includes time at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. On his LinkedIn profile he said of his new role that he has direct oversight of artificial intelligence and agent infrastructure and that he spearheaded the development of a modern loan origination system.
"Aaron is a fintech industry veteran, who specializes in building agile, customer-driven product platforms," Unlock's LinkedIn post said. "He has spearheaded product development and user experience design for several startups as well as Fortune 500 banks. Aaron is also an entrepreneur, with two ventures in insurance and e-commerce security. He began his career working in brand development at creative agencies. "
Aaron Traub was hired as head of product at Unlock Technologies, a media statement issued last week indicated.
Allen Price, SVP at BSI Financial, is a mortgage industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the primary and secondary markets. At BSI, Allen focuses on loan subservicing, QC, and mortgage servicing rights acquisitions. Prior to BSI, he oversaw sales and strategy as SVP at RoundPoint Financial Group. Allen's background includes SVP at ServiceLink's capital markets group and as SVP at Nationstar Mortgage, where he led Nationstar's MSR and subservicing acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Allen was a senior risk executive for BBVA's residential mortgage portfolio and an SVP of global structured finance and RMBS trading at Bank of America. Prior to that, Allen was senior manager at Fannie Mae for nearly 7 years, from 2000-2006.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Angela Rose is a freelance reporter. Her nearly 15-year journalism career has included work for a variety of news publications like Women's Magazine and CompanyWeek. Angela studied journalism and mass communications at the University of Colorado.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Angelica Leicht is a freelance reporter for Home Equity Lending News. She is senior editor, Managing Your Money, at CBS News. She has spent more than a decade in journalism doing work for HousingWire, Bankrate, and the Dallas Observer, among many other notable publications. She graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.
Job Titles:
- Senior Portfolio Manager at Saluda Grade
Blake Eger is senior portfolio manager at Saluda Grade, a synergistic investment platform focused on growing and investing in emerging asset classes where deal size and complexity create attractive risk adjusted returns. Read more about Saluda Grade at www.saludagrade.com.
Carol Crawford has rejoined CoreLogic Inc. as head of product marketing, she said in a LinkedIn post. Her appointment marks a return to the Irvine, California-based real estate data provider, where she previously spent nearly four years in various leadership roles until April 2014.
"As they say, third time's the charm! I'm thrilled to share that I've accepted the head of product marketing role at CoreLogic," she said. "With nearly 20 years of experience with the company, coming back truly feels like coming home."
Most recently, Crawford led marketing strategy at FirstClose as chief marketing officer, a role she assumed in October 2022, where she focused on enhancing brand visibility and market positioning. Before that, she worked in product marketing at ICE Mortgage Technology, contributing to its go-to-market strategies and competitive positioning. Preceding her first CoreLogic tenure, she spent three years at First American Real Estate Solutions.
"I'm beyond excited to help mortgage professionals tackle challenges with industry-leading solutions and drive impactful marketing strategies," Crawford added.
At FirstClose, a HELN advertiser, John Aslanian has stepped into the role of chief revenue officer, the Austin, Texas-based company announced Monday. In this position, he will oversee sales growth, client engagement, and the expansion of strategic partnerships. Aslanian will spearhead go-to-market initiatives, drive business development and sales, manage key client relationships, and refine the company's partner ecosystem to optimize revenue streams.
Job Titles:
- Member of the HELN Editorial Team
- Reporter
- Freelance Journalist
Christian Allred is a freelance journalist for Home Equity Lending News. He has been professionally writing about the real estate industry since 2022. Christian has a BA in English and German from Brigham Young University, where he minored in editing. He earned a Master's degree in American Studies from Heidelberg University.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Partner at SeldenLindeke LLP
Colgate Selden is a founder and partner at SeldenLindeke LLP, which provides seasoned and accomplished counsel to mortgage firms, fintechs, consumer finance companies and financial institutions. As a founding member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Colgate was a senior counsel in the Office of Regulations where he worked on many of the major Dodd Frank Act Title XIV rules. Reach Colgate at cselden@seldenlindeke.com.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of WFG Lender Services
Dan Bailey is senior vice president of WFG Lender Services and heads the national sales team for its Enterprise Solutions group. Under his leadership, WFG's Lenders Services division has consistently ranked "world-class" for customer satisfaction, regularly garnering Net Promoter Scores of 70 and above. A licensed New York and Pennsylvania attorney who got his start in the settlement services industry as a compliance officer with a national title insurer, Dan later moved into operations, assuming the role of Vice President. Since then, Dan has taken positions of increasing responsibility, including key roles in the areas of operations, product development, sales, and sales management. Dan takes great pride in building organizations focused on delivering exemplary products and services to their clients. Reach Dan at dbailey@wfgls.com.
Danielle Garcia is an editorial assistant. She started her journalism career as a child reporter for Girls News Daily. She has since been published by news outlets such as CNN and North Texas Daily. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Print and Digital Journalism.
FirstClose Inc.'s new vice president of marketing is David Bolin, according to a company statement issued Monday. He will be entrusted with broad oversight across all outreach and promotional initiatives. His responsibilities include all aspects of marketing, public relations and business development, as well as sales and enterprise communications.
Prior to joining the home-equity technology provider, Bolin's two decades in banking and fintech marketing include marketing roles at Optimal Blue, SimpleNexus and most recently at nCino Inc.
Also joining the Tempe, Arizona-headquartered firm's expanding leadership team was Eliot Bass, who was named head of data, marking another key hire for Unlock. He reports on LinkedIn a dozen employers since 2013 with a recent job concentration in data and analytics.
ServiceLink, which conducts an annual home-equity survey, recently disclosed that Elizabeth Green has joined the Pittsburgh-based firm as senior vice president of valuation solutions. Green will help drive the valuations-related strategy and continue digitizing and modernizing valuation solutions.
Green has cultivated deep expertise in valuation data standards since 2009, guiding implementation strategies across mortgage platforms, while her valuation career began in 1999 at Basis 100. Since then her employers have included Appraisal Logistics, LoanLogics and Solidifi.
She currently serves as the chair of the Property and Valuation Services Community of Practice for the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization.
"Liz's deep industry knowledge and decades of on-the-ground experience as a valuation powerhouse will help further accelerate ServiceLink's position as a market leader," Matt Woodhouse, managing director of valuation at ServiceLink, said in the written statement. "We're excited to have her here."
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Elizabeth Tharakan is a freelance reporter who covers home-equity law and other issues. In addition to her role as a journalist, she is an attorney. She achieved a Master of Laws degree from the University of Berkeley School of Law. She has worked as a family law attorney and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver.
"Launching our wholesale broker division is a strategic step toward empowering brokers and delivering unparalleled solutions to investors," Dunmor Founder and Chief Executive Officer Franck Ruimy said in the announcement. "We are setting the benchmark for excellence, transparency, and growth in private lending. Our data integration and technology ensure a user-friendly portal that streamlines processes and enhances broker efficiency."
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of White Sand Capital
Indar Lange is the founder and CEO of White Sand Capital. He is an experienced real estate investor who was born and raised in Hawaii. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with an engineering degree and started working in maintenance. His wife, Rachel, is the one who got him into real estate back in 2013 by dragging him to an educational event. Since then, he has scaled to become the largest flipper in Hawaii with over 120 projects done, $150 million in deals, and 150 rental properties across Hawaii and the mainland. He continues to push the limits of what's possible in real estate investing in a tier-1 market.
Saluda Grade, which participated in four rated and unrated home-equity securitizations tracked by HELN during 2024, disclosed Tuesday that Jim Boothby has been hired as head of global business development. Boothby brings over 25 years of expertise spanning credit markets, business development, and investor relations at a diverse group of asset management institutions.
"While I've seen the broader private credit boom firsthand, investor demand for asset-based credit strategies, specifically, has grown significantly in recent years," Boothby said in the press release. "Saluda Grade has already established itself as a premier destination for residential asset-based finance, and this area of the market still has tremendous potential for additional growth."
Job Titles:
- Chief Revenue Officer for the Austin, Texas
In a written statement to HELN, Aslanian noted that a constricted housing market is preventing homeowners from selling unless they are forced to sell. First mortgage borrowers need ways to easily tap a record amount of available home equity.
"The equity process does not need to be a 45-day circus like getting a first mortgage," he said. "Getting a HELOC/HELoan should be completely digital, self-serve and fast. That's what the FirstClose platform has brought to the market and I wanted to be part of the momentum in the equity space."
John Aslanian, chief revenue officer for the Austin, Texas-based company, said in the press release, "With experienced professionals joining our sales organization, we're positioned to help more lenders capitalize on the growing demand for home-equity products while improving their operational efficiency and borrower experience."
Job Titles:
- FirstClose As Regional Vice Presidents
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Journalist
Joseph Radigan is a freelance journalist who reports on the second mortgage capital markets. He has been covering the financial services beat for more than three decades, during which he worked at U.S. Banker, PYMTS, and Thomson Reuters, where he served as a managing editor for 11 years. Joseph obtained a Bachelors in Economics from Colgate University.
Job Titles:
- MeridianLink General Counsel
MeridianLink, which provides a loan origination system for home-equity products, disclosed this month that Larry Katz, who is the president of the Costa Mesa, California-based technology firm, will assume the role of chief executive officer in October.
Before joining MeridianLink last year as chief financial officer, Katz worked in private equity. Among his employers since 1990 has been JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he was managing director; StubHub, which he served as acting CFO for; and The Walt Disney Co., when he had an analyst position in the strategic planning group.
"I look forward to working with the board, our management team, and MeridianLink colleagues to continue to deliver a best-in-class digital lending platform for our clients," he said in the statement.
Katz is taking over the CEO position from Nicolaas Vlok, who previously disclosed plans to step down but will remain on the board of directors.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Lisa Burden is a freelance reporter who specializes in second mortgage legal issues. She has been covering mortgage litigation for more than a decade. Based in the nation's capital, she attended the University of Maryland Francis King School of Law and achieved a J.D. in Law.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Director of Subscriptions
- Director of Subscriptions at
Lorie Alexander is the director of subscriptions at for Home Equity Lending News.
Mark Hanson is the founder of HomeEquity Exchange, a platform for originating home-equity agreements. He has spent two decades in financial products, including a time as an executive in wholesale and correspondent production at Bank of America and Sovereign Bank in the early 2000s. Reach Mark at mark@homeequity.exchange.
"As a head of brand at Unlock, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping our narrative and connecting with our audience on a deep level," Unlock Chief Marketing Officer Michael Micheletti said in a LinkedIn post. "If you're ready to make a significant impact and be part of something truly groundbreaking, apply or reach out directly."
Splitero is actively recruiting a senior Salesforce administrator, according to a recently posted listing. The remote position pays between $140,000 and $160,000 annually.
According to the San Diego-based HEI originator, the person in the position will provide administration of the Salesforce environment. In addition, the job requires customizing and implementing profiles, roles and security settings.
Splitero noted the ideal candidate should bring early-stage startup experience, more than six years of Salesforce administration, and a track record of designing complex automation.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Michele Lerner is a freelance reporter. She writes about finance, business and real estate. Her work has been published in a number of high-profile news publications including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post. She obtained a BA and MA in international affairs at The George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Freelance Reporter
- Socio LinkedIn Profile Mike De Socio Stories
- Socio, Reporter
Mike De Socio is a freelance reporter based in Albany, New York. He has spent nearly a decade as a journalist, and his work has been published in The Washington Post, CNET and the Albany Business Review. Mike graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a B.
Job Titles:
- Freelance Reporter
- Socio, Reporter
Nunyo Demasio is a freelance reporter who has spent two decades in journalism. His work has been published in major publications including The Washington Post, New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated. He interned at the New York Times and was an editorial director at Penguin Random House. Nunyo obtained a B.A. in communications from St. John's University. His first book, Parcells: A Football Life, was published in 2015.
Paul Kirkbride has been named to the board of directors of Coviance, an Iowa-based home-equity lending platform. Kirkbride has more than 27 years of experience in lending and financial services and is currently the chief operating officer of the Washington State Employees Credit Union and the CEO of One Washington Financial. Kirkbride is now the eighth member of Coviance's board of directors and advisors.
In the announcement of the appointment, Coviance CEO Omar Jordan said he is looking forward to Kirkbride's strategic point of view and will rely on him to help make the borrower experience simpler and faster.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Paul Hughes is a freelance reporter. He has been a journalist for more than three decades at a variety of news publications including the Orange County Business Journal and Entrepreneur Media. He was an adjunct professor at various educational institutions. He obtained an M.A. in English from Chapman University and a B.A. in Literature from the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer at Unlock, Calle
Paul Tucker, chief operating officer at Unlock, called the new hires "exceptional leaders" and said they will help meet growing demand for HEI products.
"Their expertise in product, brand and data are instrumental to both accelerating our growth and solidifying our position as the market leader in home equity solutions," Tucker stated in the announcement. "Our customers expect a best-in-class experience, and these individuals position us to empower even more homeowners."
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Executive Director
- Member of the Management Team
- Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Computershare Loan Services
Ralph Armenta joined the Home Equity Lending News board as its executive director.
Armenta, who has has 20 years of mortgage industry leadership experience, was welcomed by HELN Chief Executive Officer Sam Garcia.
"Ralph is a prolific figure in home-equity finance who can frequently be found helping other industry players connect or advocating on behalf of others on issues for which he has no horse in the race," Garcia said. "It's inspirational to work with Ralph, it's a pleasure to interact with him, and it's an honor to have him on our board"
Additionally, Armenta has been named president of Lending-in-a-Box, a division of Incenter Lender Services.
Armenta, was most recently senior vice president of enterprise sales at Computershare Loan Services. He also has completed a stint as executive vice present and chief revenue officer at LoanFuel and was managing director at Compass Analytics.
Ralph Armenta is a New York-based seasoned mortgage executive. He is an executive member of the HELN board and president of Incenter's Lending-in-a-Box. Ralph has worked at a variety of formidable lending institutions and service providers over the past two decades. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Catholic University of America, while he achieved a Master of Science degree from the Zicklin School of Business. You can reach Ralph at ralph.armenta@gmail.com.
Job Titles:
- Appointed Senior Vice President and CMO of Mountain America Credit Union
Rob Brough has been appointed senior vice president and CMO of Mountain America Credit Union, a news release last week indicated. He succeeds Sharon Cook, who recently retired following more than 15 years with the Sandy, Utah-based financial institution.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Journalist
Robert Chiarito is a freelance journalist for Home Equity Lending News. His work has been published in The New York Times, Reuters and MergerMarket, among other prominent publications. Robert earned his Bachelors in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Freelance Journalist
- Housing Market Reporter
Robert Davis is a freelance journalist. Among other home-equity issues, he covers the emerging home-equity investment market. Over the past decade, his work has been featured in publications that include Business Insider. Robert obtained a M.S. in Journalism from New York University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Portfolio Manager at Saluda Grade
Roger Ashworth is senior portfolio manager at Saluda Grade, a synergistic investment platform focused on growing and investing in emerging asset classes where deal size and complexity create attractive risk adjusted returns. Read more about Saluda Grade at www.saludagrade.com.
Job Titles:
- Figure Chief Legal Officer
- First CLO of Figure Technology Solutions
Ron Chillemi has been named the first CLO of Figure Technology Solutions.
Chillemi was most recently chief legal counsel at Aven, a seller of secured lending products and prior to that was deputy general counsel at mortgage lender Better. In all, Chillemi has more than 25 years of regulatory affairs, government relations and compliance experience.
In the same announcement, the New York-based fintech disclosed Deirdre Reilly has been hired as vice president of compliance.
Reilly distinguishes herself with direct home-equity compliance expertise, having managed oversight functions at Spring EQ LLC for more than five years, then guiding regulatory programs at Aven Financial and Arc Home LLC following six years as a compliance manager at Ditech Financial.
Both Comerford and Reilly will report to Figure Chief Legal Officer Ronald Chillemi, who started with the company, himself, last year.
"I had the privilege of working with Christie and Dee in the past," Chillemi said in the written statement. "I am excited to welcome them to the Figure team because their expertise will deliver immediate and substantial value to our business. They bring deep industry knowledge from working across highly-regulated industries. Christie and Dee will be instrumental in our next chapter as we accelerate our vision to transform capital markets."
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Saluda Grade
Ryan Craft, who is the founder and CEO of Saluda Grade, said in the announcement, "We have tremendous opportunities ahead in 2025 and beyond as institutional demand for asset-based strategies continues to grow, and the expansion of our senior team serves as our latest commitment to our investors. We're excited to welcome quality, experienced professionals to our firm as we continue offering unique solutions to our clients and executing on our firm's long-term growth strategy."
Job Titles:
- Head of Brand at Unlock Technologies
Stephanie Nordstrom has been named head of brand at Unlock Technologies, the company reported in a LinkedIn post.
Prior to joining Unlock, Nordstrom spent six months as a senior marketing consultant at UCLA, where she advised on branding and strategic outreach initiatives.
Before that, she held positions at companies including Amazon Music Brand Marketing, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and Chime.
"Stephanie has spent nearly two decades building consumer and fintech brands," the post said. "Her experience includes expanding brand awareness through partnerships with sports teams, musicians and social media influencers. She also brings public relations and integrated media skills to the role."
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Steve Rappoport is a freelance reporter. His more than two decades in journalism include positions at Bloomberg from 2022 to 2024, where he served in various roles including reporter, editor and news anchor; and Fox News Media, where Steven spent more than 16 years as an update anchor and reporter. Follow Steve on X at @steverappoport.
Job Titles:
- Lending Vice President at Nada Holdings Inc
Sundance Brennan is lending vice president at Nada Holdings Inc., a home-equity investment and finance platform. Reach Sundance at sundance@nada.co.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer and Co - Founder of the Austin, Texas
"His proven track record of leading sales teams, accelerating revenue growth and increasing sales efficiency will be instrumental in expanding our market presence and delivering even greater results to our clients and partners," FirstClose Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Tedd Smith in a written statement. "John's extensive experience in mortgage technology and his proven ability to drive revenue growth make him the perfect fit to lead our sales and business development efforts."
During Aslanian's quarter-century career in mortgage technology sales, he held positions at nCino, SimpleNexus and ICE Mortgage Technology.
Tedd Smith, chief executive officer and co-founder of the Austin, Texas-based company, explained in the news statement, "David has proven time and time again that he knows how to develop and execute unique strategies that not only meet but exceed growth goals and brand awareness objectives. He is a strategic thinker and collaborator who will be a welcomed addition to our leadership team."
"Since joining MeridianLink as CFO and then taking the helm as President in 2024, Larry has been a close partner and critical leader, who has accelerated our progress and driven our evolution as the leading digital lending platform for community financial institutions," Vlok said in the announcement.
MeridianLink also appointed Troy Coggiola as chief strategy officer, succeeding co-founder Tim Nguyen as he transitions into the role of strategic advisor to the leadership team.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Freelance Reporter
Vaidik Trivedi is a freelance reporter who covers banking and Federal Reserve monetary policy. He obtained a Master of Arts in Business and Economics from Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism. His work has been published in Debtwire, Bank Automation News and Investopedia.
Job Titles:
- Financial Services Consultant
- Senior Banking Executive
Vikram Gupta is a financial services consultant and a 20-year senior banking executive who most recently was the head of home equity at PNC Bank - the biggest originator of home-equity lines of credit in the country. Before that he was managing director at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and residential real estate product strategy head at Citigroup Inc. He is an executive member of the HELN board. Vikram is a Harvard Business School MBA. He can be reached at vgupta27@gmail.com.
Job Titles:
- Appointed Executive Vice President of the Newly Launched Wholesale Lending Division at BARH Dunmore LLC
Zeenat Zonte has been appointed executive vice president of the newly launched wholesale lending division at BARH Dunmore LLC, which does business as Dunmor, a press release last week indicated. The new division is offering RTL loan products.