Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Cenlar, Fairway make leadership moves

Following recent changes in leadership, including the retirement of longtime CEO Greg Tornquist, mortgage subservicer Cenlar made several additions to its default management operations and risk modeling teams. Cenlar services loans in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Default rates have approached early 2020 levels, according to several research organizations. 

New vice presidents joining default management operations at the Ewing, New Jersey-based company are Adam Saab, who takes over as head of early-stage default; Adam Wood, the new head of late-stage default; Jason Schmidt, appointed as head of claims; and Jessica Sharp, incoming head of foreclosure. 

Saab spent 14 years with CitiMortgage, where he most recently served as senior vice president of default operations, and previously worked at PNC Bank and LoanCare. In his new role, Saab will oversee all early stages of the default process, including loss mitigation. A former vice president of default operations at Mr. Cooper, Wood will manage bankruptcies, real-estate owned property preservation, claims, loss analysis and foreclosures. Wood also previously held roles at Fannie Mae.

Schmidt will help manage claims, tapping into experience in bankruptcy and government and mortgage-insurance claims after stints at Mr. Cooper and Ocwen. Sharp brings expertise in foreclosure from past positions at Nationstar Mortgage (now known as Mr. Cooper), and more recently, PennyMac, where she was vice president of default.

Ang Shen also joined Cenlar as vice president of model risk management and will oversee a team ensuring adherence to regulatory and compliance guidelines company-wide. Shen previously held the role of advisory director at KPMG’s modeling and valuation group, helping to create and deliver validations for the firm’s financial-industry clients. Earlier in his career, he also worked on mortgage valuation for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.