As part of the company’s efforts to shape its future, Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (ASPS) announced that it appointed John Vella to the newly created position of chief revenue officer.
In this new role, Vella will focus on the company’s growth initiatives and diversifying the reach of Altisource’s product suite to the real estate and mortgage industries, Altisource said in a release.
Vella has been tasked with managing and expanding Altisource’s client relationships, growing Altisource’s mortgage origination servicing business through its Lenders One and Wholesale One cooperatives and Mortgage Builder software solutions; introducing innovative mortgage technology products and continuing to expand Altisource’s default services business.
Altisouce said that Vella will continue in his executive role at Equator Business Solutions, a provider of default software solutions for services, real estate and mortgage industry professionals and vendors.
Vella brings more than 30 years of experience to Altisource. Thoughout his career, Vella has held a number of C-level roles at companies throughout the real estate and mortgage industry during his career.
Prior to joining Altisource, Vella was the executive vice president responsible for special servicing for GMAC/Rescap. Previously, he held roles as president and chief executive officer of EMC Mortgage Corporation (a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase); CEO of Household Automotive; chief sales officer of Option One Mortgage and director at Freddie Mac and the FDIC.
“John has decades of real estate and mortgage industry experience and a remarkable track record in sales leadership,” Altisource CEO William Shepro said. “Our management team has been impressed with his ability to articulate and execute against a strategic vision. We are confident that in appointing John as chief revenue officer we are creating a means to institutionalize his experience and success that will drive our revenue growth strategy in this opportunistic time in the mortgage and real estate market.”
Vella’s addition comes at a key time in Altisource’s history. The company stands shaken after its chairman, William Erbey, was forced to resign as part of $150 million settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, over allegations into the servicing practices of Ocwen Financial (OCN) and its dealing with its related companies, namely Altisource.
According to the NYDFS, Erbey did not recuse himself from the approval process of transactions between the related companies. “Mr. Erbey, who owns approximately 15% of Ocwen’s stock, and nearly double that percentage of the stock of Altisource Portfolio, has participated in the approval of a number of transactions between the two companies or from which Altisource received some benefit, including the renewal of Ocwen’s forced placed insurance program in early 2014,” the NYDFS said.
That’s the very forced-placed insurance program that Altisource announced it was discontinuing in November, citing “uncertainties with industry-wide litigation and the regulatory environment.”
Shepro and other company executives attempted to ease the concerns of the company’s investors in a call last week, where they told investors that the company is “committed” to Ocwen and has “right-sized” the organization, by eliminating more than 800 individual employee positions and “hundreds” of contractors throughout the company’s “geographical footprint,” in an attempt to cut down on the company’s operating costs.
During the call with investors, Shepro said the company plans to focus on expanding its mortgage business in the immediate future, and has now tasked Vella with doing exactly that.
“Altisource has a world-class set of products and services to help the mortgage and real estate industry meet its complex end to end needs,” Vella said. “Along with our expertise working with the largest financial institutions in the country, Altisource can uniquely deliver the right mix of products and services that can help our customers improve their operations and focus on efficient, compliant growth.”
