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16 | TH E M R EP O RT MCROWD 16 | TH E M R EP O RT GOVERNMENT MICHAEL R. BRIGHT The Trump administration announced its nomination of Michael R. Bright as President of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) in May. If confirmed, Bright would be the agency's first permanent head since Ted Tozer stepped down in January 2017, wrapping up a seven-year tenure as head of Ginnie. In November 2017, Bright appeared before the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing titled "Sustainable Housing Finance: The Role of Ginnie Mae in the Housing Finance System." During the hearing, Bright offered praise for Ginnie Mae's strengths, telling the Committee, "At a very high level, the Ginnie Mae wrap works because we do two things effectively. First, we are transparent about our rules and our processes with our investors. And second, we work hard to police our program." JOHN CZWARTACKI John Czwartacki has transitioned from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) as its Chief Communications Officer and Spokesperson. Czwartacki has been at OMB from the earliest days of the administration, and was detailed as a Senior Advisor at BCFP by Acting Director Mick Mulvaney upon his appointment to the dual roles last November. "It has been nothing short of the highlight of my career serving the current budget director, his patriotic and tireless staff, and the Trump administration overall," Czwartacki said. "It has been my pleasure to work alongside an extremely talented communications team both at OMB and in the West Wing. I look forward to continuing my service, alongside Mick Mulvaney and his tremendous staff, for the foreseeable future. We have lots of work ahead of us." SAM KHATER, JOHN KRENITSKY Freddie Mac, a GSE that provides mortgage capital to lenders, has appointed John Krenitsky as SVP and CCO, effective June 1 following the retirement of current CCO Carol Wambeke. "John's sharp legal mind and experience in building and managing enterprise-wide compliance risk programs make him the ideal person to be Freddie Mac's chief compliance officer as we continue on our transformation journey. In short, he is the right person for the job at the right time for the company," Anil Hinduja, EVP and Chief Enterprise Risk Officer at Freddie Mac said. "On behalf of all of Freddie Mac, I would like to congratu- late Carol Wambeke on her retirement and express my appreciation of her more than 20 years of service to the company. Over the last several years, she has played an integral role in Freddie Mac's transformation." Freddie Mac also welcomes Sam Khater, a housing and economics expert with over 20 years' experience, as VP and Chief Economist. LENDER/SERVICER BRAD BLACKWELL After 17 years at Wells Fargo, Brad Blackwell, EVP, Housing Policy and Homeownership Growth Strategies at Wells Fargo Home Lending, has announced that he will retire, effective September 1, 2018. Blackwell leads the development and advocacy for housing policy and the development of strategies to increase homeownership in the U.S. at Wells Fargo. "My passion is helping minority and LMI families to become homeowners. In my remaining time at Wells, I will be working hard to increase our capability to serve these consumers," Blackwell said in a social media post while announcing his retirement. "After that, I will be spending time with my two new grandchildren, traveling with the love of my life, and enjoying family and friends." Blackwell's passion for homeownership development in the country has resulted in Wells Fargo introducing new programs that promote diversity and inclusion not only within the bank but also towards its vendors and suppliers. MARK JOHNSON LRES Corporation, a residential and commercial real estate services company based in Orange, California providing nationwide valuations, REO asset management, and HOA solutions for the mortgage and real estate industry, announced the promotion of their Chief Strategy Officer Mark R. Johnson to the role of the company's President. "Since joining LRES just over a year ago, Mark has proven himself to be a forward-looking and visionary leader," said Roger Beane, CEO of LRES. "In that year, he has greatly distinguished himself by propelling the company forward in both our strategy and direction. His passion to improve the valuation industry through efficient workflows and advanced data science will influence our corporate objectives and initiatives as we enter the next phase of our growth." MICHAEL J. KULA Planet Financial Group, LLC, a privately held mortgage lender and servicer headquar- tered in Meriden, Connecticut, has announced that Michael J. Kula has joined the company as COO. Kula's Who's moving on and who's moving up in the industry This month, some of the industry's largest companies saw significant changes to their corporate lineups. "My passion is helping minority and LMI families to become homeowners. In my remaining time at Wells, I will be working hard to increase our capability to serve these consumers. After that, I will be spending time with my two new grandchildren, traveling with the love of my life, and enjoying family and friends." —Brad Blackwell, EVP, Housing Policy and Homeownership Growth Strategies, Wells Fargo Home Lending