The 2024 Lending Luminary Award Winners Are …
A luminary is defined as “a person who inspires or influences others.” And that type of person is exactly who PROGRESS in Lending is honoring. Right now, the market is filled with uncertainty, but these true Lending Luminaries are handling and navigating the constantly fluctuating market conditions. These mortgage bankers, lenders, servicers, technology executives, consultants, etc. are helping their companies and this industry thrive. These executives deserve to be recognized for their industry vision and leadership. The 6th Annual 2024 Lending Luminary Award Winners are:
Maryna Bochkarova
Owner
MBrate LLC
Bochkarova implemented cutting-edge strategies, such as tailored mortgage solutions for underserved markets and new construction. In addition, she completed team training and implementation of the app for partners like real estate agents. Bochkarova has expended the company’s residential focus to the commercial sector, secured critical partnerships with banks, and offering to finance real estate commissions. Her work has been recognized internationally, as she was awarded Ivan Mazepa’s Order for contribution to infrastructure expansion in Ukraine and building relationships between Ukraine and USA in the financial sector. Now she is working on implementing AI into underwriting decisioning.
Mike Brown
Chief Integration Officer
Xactus
A former CEO and COO with more than 30 years of experience, Mike was deeply involved in the formation of Xactus, which is the amalgamation of six leading verification companies that merged over a three-year period.
A veteran in the industry, Mike amassed an impressive tech background in his initial roles in the industry which were centered on technology. That made him uniquely qualified to play a key role in the company’s initial evolution, during which time he oversaw the consolidation and absorption of the various technology platforms which resulted from the mergers. And today, he serves as chief integration officer at Xactus, where he is responsible for all technology integrations and customer migrations to Xactus’ proprietary verifications platform, Xactus360.
Mike is a strategic leader who is extremely client centric – yet very process driven internally. Those qualities made him the perfect person to spearhead one of the company’s main priorities – the upgrade of all of Xactus’ clients to Xactus360. Over the course of the last 12 months, Mike has led this huge endeavor – assembling a team, developing a strategy, and executing a plan to methodically move customers from a variety of legacy technology systems onto the single platform. The initiative was completed in August of this year, with all clients successfully upgraded to Xactus360.
On a national level, Mike is very active in the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) where he currently serves as a board member and previously served as president. This trade association represents independent resellers. Mike is a passionate advocate for the reseller community and consumers who are embarking on the housing journey. Mike has also been working with regulators, trying to educate them on the value that our industry brings to both consumers and the real estate market.
Carmine Cacciavillani
Founder and Chairman
Blue Sage Solutions
Over the past decade, Carmine Cacciavillani has propelled Blue Sage Solutions to the forefront of mortgage technology with the Blue Sage Digital Lending Platform, the industry’s first end-to-end, cloud native loan origination platform. But few mortgage leaders have had as profound of an impact on the mortgage industry as Carmine has had during the past 12 months.
That’s because in February, Carmine introduced another true industry first—the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform, built from scratch, which enables mortgage organizations to seamlessly integrate their origination and servicing processes in the same cloud-based ecosystem. Fully compliant at the federal, state and agency levels, the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform revolutionizes mortgage operations through API-based technology that connects the entire mortgage lifecycle.
The initial version of the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform includes all necessary functions to perform interim servicing, with full-scale servicing functionality coming soon. The platform is not only for users of the Blue Sage Digital Lending Platform. Any lender, credit union, or mortgage banker, regardless of their current LOS, can integrate it with their system of record to effortlessly automate closed loan transfers, process individual and batch payments, onboard loans, collect payments and more.
Featuring a modern, user-friendly system accessible via any browser, the Digital Servicing Platform also maximizes the use of automation to modernize servicing operations, reduce costs, and enhance borrower retention. The full servicing version of the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform will include expanded functionality such as investor reporting and default management, providing lenders and servicers with a continually evolving platform capable of adapting to their growing needs and industry demands.
Over the past year, Carmine has also diligently led efforts to refine and enhance the document management capabilities within Blue Sage Solutions. His focus on integrating advanced document imaging technologies, including automatic document recognition (ADR) and optical character recognition (OCR), has significantly streamlined the way documents are processed and managed. These improvements have not only sped up document handling but also enhanced the accuracy and accessibility of important loan documentation, enabling clients to make quicker, more informed operational decisions.
Additionally, Carmine spearheaded the launch of an enhanced reporting tool designed to transform how clients access and utilize their data. This tool features a user-friendly interface reminiscent of a spreadsheet and offers access to thousands of data elements in near real time. With dozens of standard reports and a variety of customization options—including a wide variety of visualizations like bar and line charts, pie charts, and maps—this tool empowers users to filter, group, and sort data effortlessly. Its ‘drill anywhere’ feature allows for deep dives directly from any point in the data visualization, and even includes a robust report scheduling function, which automates report delivery based on specific alerts or date changes.
Alayna Gardner
Director of Revenue
LodeStar
Gardner’s contribution to the industry is through her content. Every week, she co-hosts the Lending Leaders podcast with Jim Paolino, and she hosts an interview show called Thirsty Thursdays. Gardner receives over 2,000 impressions a week on LinkedIn, and has been in a position to challenge the mortgage industry to rethink supposedly tried and true marketing strategies. Marketing costs money, and she has been delighted to share her expertise about that critical investment.
Also, as a woman, Gardner has been humbled to provide a space for women and other minorities in our industry. Too often, white men dominate the opinion columns and soundbites of the mortgage industry. Minorities have untapped contributions, which our industry needs to hear.
Additionally, the relationship between mental health and the workplace simply cannot be talked about enough. Any chance she gets to normalize talking about mental health struggles and strategies, she takes. Gardner believes that every single industry on earth is better off when they take mental health seriously.
Jim Glennon
VP, Hedging and Trading Client Services
Optimal Blue
In 2022, Optimal Blue introduced CompassEdge, a comprehensive hedging and loan trading platform hailed as transformative for the industry. Jim Glennon, who has spent his entire career in the mortgage hedging and trading arena, heads the 60-person team on the client services side responsible for driving migration to CompassEdge among Optimal Blue’s existing clients and onboarding new clients to CompassEdge, while still supporting and advising Optimal Blue clients using CompassPoint, Optimal Blue Secondary Services (OBSS), and Resitrader.
As of August 2024, about 45 of 300+ clients have been migrated by Jim’s team to CompassEdge. While the initial installs focused on full-service clients — that is, clients for whom Optimal Blue fully handles hedging and trading functions – Jim’s team is currently boarding non-managed clients on to the new platform, which now includes AI functionality to help lenders maximize profitability on every loan transaction and other forward-looking features.
Jim often functions as a “boots on the ground” consultant with clients seeking his guidance on product decisions or who want a knowledgeable sounding board in determining the best product mix for them. He also coaches his team as they help clients navigate market volatility.
Jim’s team fields hundreds of inquiries a day from clients and acts as intermediaries with 100+ counterparties working with Optimal Blue’s clients including broker/dealers, aggregator investors, and the GSEs.
Chris Harrington
Co-Founder and CEO
Usherpa
It was during this difficult year that The Mortgage Collaborative, an organization that serves hundreds of mortgage lenders across the country, reached out to Chris Harrington, an award-winning executive who was promoted to CEO of Usherpa this year, to become a TMC Preferred Partner.
According to Melissa Langdale, TMC’s President and COO, “The Mortgage Collaborative prides itself on having best in class preferred partners that help our lenders lower their cost of origination, improve their customer experience, and retain their best Loan Officers so that they can easily compete with even the largest lenders. We are thrilled to add Usherpa as a preferred partner.”
Chris runs the industry’s original SmartCRM and Relationship Engagement Platform that provides mortgage professionals with intuitive automated marketing, engagement tools, and customized content. Chris is a marketing expert and fintech leader with 30-years of experience in high-tech management, developing state-of-the-art CRM platforms combined with automated content marketing services.
Beyond that, she calls every Usherpa enterprise client every quarter to provide new marketing insight, detailed platform ROI analytics, and generally motivate lenders to stay in the fight. Her company has the technology lenders need now, which is why the collaborative named Usherpa a preferred partner.
Usherpa is constantly innovating and creating valuable technology for its members. Just this year, under Chris’s direction, Usherpa introduced its new Pipeline functionality, which allows lenders to create Customized Experiences™ for every contact type and lifecycle stage based on automated workflows for any scenario with an intuitive drag & drop kanban interface. This allows every LO to duplicate the habits and tasks of top producers, elevating their production to be closer to the high-level of the lender’s top performers.
But then Chris took it a step further, making Pipelines Free for Usherpa Users and corporate stakeholders so they can create Pipelines with call scripting and push to their LOs instantly.
Major clients have called Pipelines game-changing technology. Tied directly to the Loan Operating System (LOS) and the loan officers’ databases has made this new offering exponentially more powerful and intuitive than costly third-party tools.
Dan Harrington
Co-Founder
Usherpa
While the company he founded, Usherpa, was helping originators close more loans, under the thoughtful direction of company co-founder and CEO Chris Harrington, Dan sat down to create something that would help lenders for years into the future.
Authentic Intelligence: The Other AI is the title of Dan’s new book. In the introduction, he writes: “I wrote this book because the majority of CRM projects fail. It costs trillions of dollars worldwide every year. The cost of missed opportunities can’t even be calculated, and that frustrates the hell out of me and should frighten executives.”
In his book, Dan provides a method by which lenders, and any leader in charge of choosing/implementing new tech, can avoid many common tech disasters. His advice is based on four decades of experience as a loan officer, technologist, and industry leader. He is a true leader.
Seth Hooper
Chief Product Officer
Mortgage Cadence, an Accenture Company
Seth Hooper is an experienced Product Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and residential mortgage industry. He is accomplished in Business Relationship Management, Agile and SCRUM Software Development methodologies, Mortgage Origination, Business Development, and Strategic Planning, all of which are applied in his current role serving as the Chief Product Officer at Mortgage Cadence.
Seth has successfully led the Mortgage Cadence team in developing and implementing the most modern, comprehensive Loan Origination System solution for the industry, the Mortgage Cadence Platform (MCP), with the ability to support multiple channels and products all within one tech stack. Additionally, MCP is recognized as one of the most compliant platforms in the industry, and has been tailored to support a customized experience for each user.
Over the past 12 months, the team has invested in continuing to further the adoption and implementation of automation tools to increase user efficiency, identifying market trends and customer needs and delivering on those competitive products and features to align with customer and prospect requirements. Seth successfully leads the teams to ensure all are aligned with goals and work together and effectively to deliver the objective in the targeted timeframe, outlined in the product roadmap which details immediate and future targets.
Jerome Jelinek
Founder and Chairman
Corporate Settlement Solutions
Jerome Jelinek is the Founder and Chairman of Corporate Settlement Solutions, a leading regional provider of residential and commercial real estate settlement solutions. CSS provides title, valuation and closing solutions for commercial and residential real estate transactions.
As Chairman, Jerome assists with the strategic direction of the company and leverages over 30 years of industry experience to lead revenue strategy and execution. He also oversees the legal and regulatory functions of the company.
One of the key markers of success that CSS prides itself on is its customer retention rate. Year-over-year, CSS has consistently had an excess of 90% customer retention and several of its largest customers have been with them for more than a decade.
Jerome is a past-president of the Michigan Land Title Association. He has presented often on a variety of real estate topics to attorneys, realtors, lenders and title industry members. In addition to the MLTA, Jerome is a member of the American Land Title Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the State Bar of Florida.
Ed Kourany Jr.
Chief Business Officer
Candor Technology
With over 25 years of proven leadership in finance, technology, and consulting, Ed has established himself as a transformative force in the mortgage industry. As Chief Business Officer at Candor Technology, Ed has been instrumental in advancing Candor’s product vision to support revolutionizing operational approaches to lending. His innovative strategies are integrating cutting-edge digital solutions, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud technology, Six Sigma methodologies, and advanced data analytics to redefine operating models, and enhance processes, infrastructure and risk management across the mortgage lifecycle.
Ed’s expertise in mortgage strategy, process optimization, and risk modeling has enabled Candor to achieve remarkable milestones and be recognized as an industry innovator. His strategic acumen has positioned Candor as a leader in delivering innovative and scalable lending solutions that meet industry demands.
In response to the rapid changes in the mortgage industry, Ed has developed a strategic approach to ensure ongoing success for both Candor Technology and the industry as a whole. His strategy is comprehensive, focusing on emerging trends, technological advancements, regulatory changes, and market demands.
Ed emphasizes the alignment of people, processes, and technology to adapt to industry shifts. He also prioritizes building strategic partnerships with lenders, technology providers, and industry organizations to stay at the forefront of industry developments. Collaboration and partnerships foster innovation, facilitate the exchange of insights, and support the adoption of best practices.
Chuck Martisek
Director of Default
MortgageFlex
Chuck, a 30-year industry veteran, brought his knowledge to MortgageFlex two years ago. He’s committed to improving the industry’s slow-moving processes, and with his innovative ideas, he has developed interactive web portals and workflows focused on accountability. These efforts provide transparency to borrowers and servicers and ensure consistent applications and balanced workloads for employees. His work also benefits investors by providing compliant timelines and reducing the risk of losses.
As we review Chuck’s enhancements to the platform, his forward-thinking approach is impressive. Despite the unpredictable nature of our industry, his goal is to make the platform more user-friendly and reduce reliance on back-office support. Implementing workflow processes across the entire Servicing Platform will boost efficiency and enhance the customer experience. Chuck’s dedication and expertise are evident in this success story. It is a new era, and Chuck is leading.
Adam Mason
President
Gershman Mortgage
Adam Mason is the president of Gershman Mortgage and a member of the company’s board of directors. He is responsible for the leadership, management, and strategic direction of the company. Adam joined Gershman Mortgage in 2010 and has served in multiple leadership roles since the start of his tenure with the company. He was appointed president in 2018, previously serving as the company’s chief operating officer and general counsel.
Over the past 12 months, Adam has enabled Gershman Mortgage to increase its profitability by 400% while keeping morale and retention high during a particularly challenging period in the industry. With Adam at the helm, the company was also able to increase its loan officer count by 30%, total volume by 14%, and state licenses by 22%.
Under his leadership this past year, Gershman mortgage won its 5th straight Top Workplace USA Today award, and 2nd straight Healthiest Employer award. In addition, the firm enjoys a 5-star Google rating and a 4.93 Experience.com rating from almost 20,000 reviews.
Adam’s optimistic, visible, and out-front leadership style enables him to comfortably engage with employees on a human level, supporting their careers by recognizing successes and advancement from within, while encouraging ideas and feedback. He is a transparent, honest communicator who shouldered the burden during this tough market, and kept spirits high by regularly conveying the company’s strategic objectives for the future which helped guide everyone in the same direction.
Kieran Mital
Head of Brand Marketing and Strategy
Tavant
Kieran Mital is a growth-focused, dynamic problem solver who helps drive brand recognition, strategy and execution for Tavant’s product lines. His marketing campaigns have boosted brand awareness, increased revenue and solidified Tavant’s competitive position. Through Mital’s efforts, Tavant’s Touchless Lending® platform, the most advanced edition of its AI-based digital lending platform, continues to experience significant traction and growth Over the last 12 months, Touchless Lending has increased revenue by 170% from the previous year on customer growth of 120%.
Mital methodically works to further position Tavant and its solutions as the leaders in AI, Fintech and Proptech. When working on any project, Mital strives to bring the ability to see more and consider new practical options. His accomplishments, through hard work and constant collaboration towards operational and technology efficiency and effectiveness, can be quantified by Tavant’s overwhelming success this past year. Driven by Mital and his team’s aggressive brand awareness and marketing campaigns, Tavant’s growth has been exponential, powering more than 33 million mortgage-related transactions. Building on this, Tavant increased revenues by more than 40%, was featured in more than 75 different articles in leading industry publications and won 10 industry-specific awards.
Throughout last year, Mital drove Tavant’s leading product, AI-powered Touchless Lending, which is reshaping the mortgage industry by giving lenders the tools they need to accelerate their loan manufacturing process and minimize origination costs. This revolutionary technology uses straight-through processing and automation to optimize the underwriting and processing experience, solving numerous pain points for lenders.
To ensure Tavant remains at the forefront of advancements, Mital has been instrumental in executing critical initiatives in the growth of AI analytics practice in Fintech. He is resolute as he continues to lead product growth within the mortgage industry and pushes his Tavant responsibilities on a daily basis. Mital spearheads the product mapping that has led to such growth by positioning Tavant’s core products and services to have their own Unique Value Propositions (UPV) to fit each client’s persona. By creating this product-market fit, Tavant’s growth flourished as reflected by being named to IDC’s Top 100 companies for the 6th year in a row, and in 2024 was named as one of the Fastest Growing FinTech Companies.
Chris Mock
VP, Mortgage Verification Services
Equifax Workforce Solutions
Chris Mock serves as Vice President of Mortgage Verification Services, Equifax Workforce Solutions, where he leverages 35 years of experience in the mortgage industry. He has held a variety of roles on the lender side, equipping him with a unique perspective to deeply understand the needs and challenges of mortgage lenders. Since joining Equifax in January 2024, he has brought this knowledge to foster innovation within the company, ensuring that its verification services align with what mortgage lenders seek.
Mock has taken a proactive approach to leadership by gathering robust voice-of-customer (VOC) insights, especially from technology companies, banks, and credit unions using verifications of employment and income from Equifax. Mock and his team have actively engaged with these clients, using a bottom-up approach to product development that centers on customer feedback. This collaboration ensures that the solutions Equifax provides are directly addressing the needs of its customers. Meanwhile, Mock is also committed to streamlining internal processes and fostering cross-departmental collaboration to improve customer satisfaction.
With a keen understanding of the challenging environment mortgage lenders have faced recently, Mock has implemented a customer feedback loop. This initiative has led to ongoing product improvements and informed the development of new products, reinforcing Equifax’s commitment to delivering solutions that are timely, relevant and aligned with the evolving needs of lenders. Through these efforts, Mock has successfully helped position Equifax at the forefront of the industry by championing customer-centric innovation and adaptability.
Maria Moskver
CEO
Cloudvirga
Over the past 12 months, Maria Moskver, CEO of Cloudvirga, has successfully led the company and made a significant impact on the mortgage industry by focusing on innovation, regulatory compliance and streamlining the loan origination process. Under her leadership, Cloudvirga has strengthened its position as a leading digital mortgage platform by driving technology enhancements that empower lenders to close loans faster and with greater accuracy.
Moskver has championed the integration of automation and AI-driven tools to optimize the mortgage origination workflow, reducing manual processes and creating efficiencies that result in significant time and cost savings for lenders. These innovations have improved the borrower experience, offering a more transparent and seamless loan process, which has been critical as the industry shifts toward a digital-first approach.
In addition to driving technology advancements, Moskver has prioritized regulatory compliance and security, ensuring Cloudvirga’s platform remains adaptable to evolving legal standards while protecting sensitive borrower data. This commitment to compliance has positioned Cloudvirga as a trusted partner in an industry where regulation is a key concern.
Moskver has also expanded Cloudvirga’s strategic partnerships, fostering collaborations that enable the company to offer more comprehensive solutions for lenders, further enhancing its value proposition in the market. Her focus on innovation, compliance, and collaboration has allowed Cloudvirga to stay ahead of market trends and maintain its leadership in the digital mortgage space.
Jason Seedig
Founder, CEO, and CTO
Mortgage365
As the founder of Mortgage365, Jason is putting his vision into action. His initial goal was to revolutionize the lending process by developing a single, unified platform that does away with fragmented systems and work silos. Mortgage365 centralizes borrower information, enabling lenders to gain a comprehensive view of each individual. This holistic approach allows for a more personalized and tailored experience, ultimately improving the likelihood of successful homebuying outcomes.
By integrating advanced technologies and human connections, Jason and his team are opening up possibilities and making a positive impact on their customers. Beginning with transparency, dependability, and personalized experiences, he and his staff are building a future where lenders and borrowers thrive together, reaching their objectives easily and with confidence. Jason and the Mortgage365 team are dedicated to superior quality, continuous learning and improvement, and revamping the lending environment, which inspires them to constantly enhance and improve the mortgage experience.
Under Jason’s steadfast leadership, Mortgage365 has played a pivotal role in helping lenders like Lennar Mortgage significantly grow lending volume and improve customer retention, even during the challenging industry headwinds of recent years.
Jason’s constant pursuit of innovation has inspired organic expansion, with larger lenders realizing the benefits of Mortgage365’s comprehensive solutions. Recently, Mortgage365 onboarded Planet Home Lending and Navy Federal Credit Union, further cementing its position in the industry.
Priya Seenath
SVP, Chief of Staff
Sagent
Priya, a transplant from Trinidad and Tobago to the US, has held various positions throughout the banking and mortgage industry over the last 28 years. Throughout her career, Priya’s determination and ability to successfully execute even the most complex projects has led her to Sagent and its ambitious goal to deliver the future of servicing to the industry at large. In her current position, she oversees and implements improved processess and efficiencies to deliver the best product and customer experience.
Over the past year, Priya has been a hands-on-leader who has worked with every single team across the company to improve Sagent’s innovative tech stack, which includes LoanServ, TEMPO, CARE, DataScape, and now, the company’s most recent and monumental launch – Dara. Dara is the first mortgage software platform to unify all data and user experiences for servicers and homeowners across the entire servicing lifecycle, while simultaneously maintaining and improving our current tech tack.
Priya’s strong leadership has been a guiding light throughout the development, launch, and ongoing implementation of Dara. Her collaborative leadership style was critical in pushing the launch of Dara forward while ensuring it was delivered with top-tier quality. With Priya’s guidance, Sagent’s quality assurance and code delivery were completed reevaluated and reconceived, creating a better experience for customers and partners. These changes have meant exceptional quality control and minimal post-production issues.
John Sherman
CEO
American Financial Network, Inc.
Under his leadership, a small regional lender has grown exponentially and is today licensed in all fifty states and D.C., bringing opportunities for homeownership to communities from coast to coast. Through historic industry shakeups and economic downturns, Sherman’s thoughtful leadership has led to calculated and measured growth and kept AFN strong and formidable as a national mortgage lender.
Sherman successfully leads AFN by forming strategic partnerships, always seeking out the most capable talent, the best technology, and the most trusted and experienced third-party vendors. He has several award-winning executives in his C Suite with decades of mortgage lending experience who are dedicated to AFN’s lasting success and have been with the organization for 15 years or more. He is a huge proponent of advanced technology and consistently introduces and adopts technological concepts that keep AFN competitive.
Sherman has developed a recognized brand by imparting an excellent work ethic to AFN personnel and offering all the support branches need in order to meet and exceed their loan volume goals. Under Sherman’s leadership, AFN Regional Managers provide renewed opportunities for success to Branch Managers, their sales and operations teams, and individual licensed Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs). His business development strategies help make branches that join the AFN team stronger and put them on a solid growth trajectory.
John Walsh
CEO
LERETA
Over the past 12 months, John Walsh, has demonstrated exceptional leadership by driving both his company and the industry toward greater innovation, efficiency, and client satisfaction. His strategic focus on technology and operational excellence has enabled LERETA to stay ahead of industry challenges, particularly as the mortgage sector faces unprecedented shifts in regulatory demands and market volatility.
Under Walsh’s leadership, LERETA has continued to invest in cutting-edge technology solutions, such as automating property tax and flood services, which has significantly reduced turnaround times and improved accuracy for lenders. This focus on automation and data-driven insights has not only enhanced internal processes but also delivered tangible value to clients, helping them reduce costs, minimize risk, and stay compliant.
Walsh has also emphasized customer-centric initiatives, ensuring that LERETA remains agile and responsive to the evolving needs of its clients. His leadership has fostered a culture of continuous improvement, where client feedback is actively used to refine and optimize LERETA’s service offerings.
Beyond technology and client service, Walsh has positioned LERETA as a thought leader in the mortgage industry by engaging in strategic partnerships and contributing to industry-wide discussions on best practices. His forward-thinking approach has helped shape industry standards, solidifying LERETA’s reputation as a trusted partner for lenders across the country.
By staying committed to innovation, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction, Walsh has successfully steered LERETA through a year of significant industry change, ensuring both the company’s growth and its continued leadership in the mortgage services sector.
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