TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1463706
8 | M R EP O RT MCROWD with a proven track record in financial services and digital transformation," Hsieh said. "By moving some of our most important infrastructure ele- ments under her leadership, notably our performance marketing engine which generates 10 million top of funnel leads [annually], and our data- driven and scaled customer engage- ment center which contacts 1.6 million customers daily, we can blend our proprietary assets and mortgage- adjacent businesses together in a powerful way." SERVICE PROVIDERS PAUL HURST First American Financial Corporation has announced the appointment of Paul Hurst as Chief Innovation Officer, reporting to Ken DeGiorgio, CEO of First American Financial. In his new role, Hurst will be responsible for identifying opportu- nities to innovate through strategic venture investments, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to his new role, Hurst will continue to serve as Managing Director of the company's venture investing arm, guiding investments in 20 high-growth proptech companies. As of the end of 2021, the company's venture investments had produced $355 million in gains. "Our investments internally and ex- ternally connect to a larger, compre- hensive strategy that leverages First American's position as the leading in- novator in title and settlement," Hurst said. "Through sustained, significant investments in our operations and external third parties, we are well positioned to further automate pro- cesses, extend our leadership in data breadth and quality, attract and retain top talent, and create products that significantly improve the experience of our customers and all the parties involved in real estate transactions." Prior to joining First American, Hurst was a partner at an interna- tional consulting firm, where he applied a process-based approach to innovation to launch and scale five venture-backed companies across three continents, spanning insurance, financial services and real estate. Before that, he advised Fortune 100 companies on corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and digital transformation. MEI LING CATHY WRIGHT Clear Capital has announced two senior executive personnel moves, as Mei Ling has been hired as the company's first EVP of Engineering, and Cathy Wright was promoted to the role of EVP of Products. Ling, who has more than 20 years of experience leading software develop- ment teams, will oversee the develop- ment and execution of Clear Capital's SaaS platform, cloud-based data and analytics solutions, web applications, mobile solutions, and mobile enter- prise application platform (MEAP). "Mei is a respected leader in engi- neering with a strong track record of promoting growth in SaaS, e-com- merce, and cloud technology," Clear Capital CEO Duane Andrews said. "We're very pleased to have her on our team and know she'll be very suc- cessful leading the technical vision for our line of products, especially as we expand into new areas and continue to serve more customers. Mei will be a great addition to our diverse and growing leadership team." Prior to joining Clear Capital, Ling was a technical advisor at Purple Innovation, where she de- signed cloud-based architecture and led the implementation of an e-commerce platform. She served as VP of Engineering at loyalty and engagement platform Punchh and led the engineering team at Shopify. Additionally, Mei spent over a decade serving Office Depot in various roles, where she grew the software devel- opment team and supported billions in e-commerce revenue. Wright was hired as VP, Product Management in October 2020, and currently leads Clear Capital's field valuation, real estate analytics, plat- form, and solutions product teams. Wright works closely with the compa- ny's ClearLabs Division to support the launch of new, innovative products. She was instrumental in the April 2021 debut of ClearInsight, a mobile app that enables real estate profession- als, homeowners, and appraisers to generate a complete digital picture of a home. In her new role, Wright will con- tinue to grow Clear Capital's product management team and capabilities, partnering with Ling and the com- pany's CIO Deepak Sachdeva, to con- tinue to advance digital appraisals. KIM WEAVER Paradatec Inc., a provider of AI-based document classifica- tion and data extraction technology for mortgage loan processing, has announced that Kim Weaver has joined the company as Director of Product Strategy. Weaver has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a focus on mortgage and consumer lending. She spent 15 years at Fiserv, where she held senior roles in product management, product strategy, and client delivery. She also served as a VP at digital technology company Pyramid Systems Inc., and as a Senior Business Analyst at Freddie Mac. Weaver has also been active with the Mortgage Bankers Association's data standards organization MISMO. "We're delighted to welcome Kim to Paradatec," said Neil Fraser, Paradatec's Director of U.S. Operations. "Her vast experience in the mortgage business and with technology make her a perfect fit. Kim is also skilled in prod- uct development and strategy, as well as managing customer relationships. She understands our clients because she's served in many key roles in the mortgage business." SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport