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8 | M R EP O RT MCROWD LENDERS SAMUEL BJELAC Sprout Mortgage, one of the nation's largest non-QM originators and fastest growing lenders, is proud to announce that Samuel Bjelac has been promoted to EVP to lead Sprout's National TPO Sales Channel, effective February 7, 2022. Bjelac will take on an expanded leadership role as he continues to grow the business among Wholesale Mortgage Brokers and Correspondent Lenders. In his past position as SVP of the non-QM Wholesale and Correspondent business channels during the past four years, Bjelac has been instrumental in positioning Sprout Mortgage as a premier non- QM and QM lender, spurring Sprout's growth as a result. In his role, he has successfully led a sales team focused on aggregating non-QM/non-agency residential mortgages and business purpose investment property loans. His strategic leadership and execu- tion will continue to connect even more mortgage professionals and their clients with powerful and unique Sprout Mortgage solutions. The Sprout Mortgage solutions include Jumbo/Super Jumbo up to $10M, DSCR and no-ratio investment loans, self-employed borrowers/bank-state- ment loans, foreign nationals as well as non-warrantable condos and more. "I am thrilled to continue cultivat- ing a team of talented mortgage professionals to grow our Sprout Mortgage TPO channel by providing incredible products, technologies, and services for our mortgage in- dustry partners. The future of Sprout Mortgage is promising as we continue on our path to becoming a top-ten national mortgage originator," Bjelac noted. Bjelac has over 20 years' experi- ence in the residential mortgage and financial services industries in both production and management capaci- ties. Prior to joining Sprout Mortgage, he served as VP of Wholesale Lending at CoreVest American Finance and was Divisional VP at Carrington Mortgage Services. He also held key roles at Flagstar Bank, First Magnus Financial, and Prudential Financial. Bjelac has earned an M.B.A. from the University of Baltimore, a B.S. from West Virginia University, and has been a featured speaker at multiple conferences and industry events throughout the United States. PATRICIA COOK Finance of America Companies Inc. has announced that its CEO Patricia L. Cook has informed the Board of Directors of her decision to retire. Cook will continue to serve as CEO of the company until a successor is appointed, and it is expected that she will remain a member of the Board of Directors through the date of the company's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. "On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Patti for her countless contribu- tions to Finance of America over the past six years," said Brian L. Libman, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Finance of America. "As President and CEO, she has been a visionary and unifying force across the entire enterprise playing important roles in our evolution into a public company. More recently, Patti laid the ground- work for the implementation of our long-term strategic roadmap that focuses on optimizing the business, driving growth, and increasing enter- prise value to the benefit of all stake- holders. Patti's efforts have served to strengthen our competitive position in the market and set us up to achieve enduring success." Cook has been with Finance of America for six years, serving as its CEO since October 2020. She joined the company as Senior Managing Director in March 2016 and was el- evated to President in March 2017. "It has been an honor and a privi- lege to lead this dynamic, visionary organization," Cook said. "My time at Finance of America has been the crowning achievement of my career. I am so proud to have played a role in building this purposefully differ- ent consumer lending platform with the broadest range of products and services designed to help a diverse consumer base. I want to thank our amazing team of talented and com- mitted professionals who work tire- lessly to the benefit of our customers, investors, and the industry." Prior to joining the Company, Cook served as President of Ditech Financial LLC from February 2013 to February 2016, and EVP of Green Tree Servicing (now Ditech Financial LLC) from January 2009 to February 2013. Before Green Tree, Cook served as EVP and Chief Business Officer of Freddie Mac, and Chief Investment Officer for JPMorgan, and Chief Investment Officer for Prudential Investment Management, and began her career at Salomon Brothers in 1979. "I'm committed to ensuring a smooth transition during this process," said Cook. "I will continue This month, some of the industry's largest companies saw significant changes to their corporate lineups. Who's moving on and who's moving up in the industry to lead Finance of America until my successor is found who will drive the execution of the long-term growth strategy we've laid out for the com- pany." Under Cook's guidance, the com- pany grew to more than 5,000 em- ployees across 300 global offices and has achieved record revenue growth across all business segments. "I'm proud of everything that I've accomplished throughout my 40-year long career," Cook said. "Now, I'm ready to embark on a new chapter in life including spending more time with family, especially my grandchildren." LISA GIBBS Lisa Gibbs has joined mortgage lender Cherry Creek Mortgage as the company's new VP of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Technologies, responsible for oversight of the firm's global CRM strategy. Gibbs will work with Cherry Creek's tech team to implement Salesforce throughout the company, and she will partner with the company's sales, marketing, operations, training, and leadership teams to execute Cherry Creek's mission and a roadmap for its CRM goals. "My goal is to help remove barriers and enable teams to work more holis- tically, as well as provide originators with tools to optimize customer ser- vice and retention," Gibbs said. "I am thrilled to be at a company like Cherry Creek with a reputation for delivering that kind of support." Gibbs brings 20-plus years of extensive industry experience to her new role, having assisted several large companies adopt and leverage Salesforce, and consolidate many dif- ferent technology platforms into the Salesforce ecosystem. She most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer and Principal at Dietrich Partners, a management con- sulting firm. She previously served as VP of Technology at Thomson Reuters. "Lisa is an energetic leader with a passion for using technology to trans- form and simplify business processes, while delivering measurable bottom- line results," said Lorie Helms, CTO of Cherry Creek Mortgage. "She will play a critical role in helping us stay in closer contact with our custom- ers during and after the origination process."