Austin, Tex.-based multi-channel lender Open Mortgage announced on Monday the appointment of Brenda Hedeen, who holds the certified public accountant (CPA) designation, to serve as the lender’s new chief financial officer. The company’s current CFO, Anthony Nolte, will be transitioning to the newly-created C-level position of Chief Legal Officer, according to the announcement.
“With her impressive skillset in financial planning and analysis, as well as her affinity for passionate and fearless leadership, Brenda’s addition to Open Mortgage will ensure the acceleration of our current momentum of success,” said Scott Gordon, founder and CEO of Open Mortgage. “Tony’s diligent service has led the company through a season of rapid growth and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we move into the next phase of expansion, his more than 30 years of leadership experience in legal, compliance and finance will continue to be invaluable to our legal infrastructure.”
Hedeen will report directly to Open Mortgage President Joe Stephenson as a member of the chief executive team. Her duties will include using her previous experience in fiscal planning to create and implement new financial management standards and adjusting resources available to the company based on emerging industry practices and trends.
“After much deliberation and following an extensive search to fill the CFO position, Brenda stood out for her impeccable record of notable business impact and ability to empower high performance and professional development among her team,” said Stephenson. “Her results-driven approach and collaborative leadership style will allow Open Mortgage to further optimize a data-based financial framework that advances the company’s business strategy.”
Hedeen comes to Open Mortgage after serving as CFO for Q Financial, and had previously also served in a CFO position at Mann Mortgage.
This is the latest hire in a recent series of visible leadership appointments the company has made in an effort to further expand its operations. These moves also come as Open Mortgage has described that it is “doubling down” on its reverse mortgage division, recently appointing one new employee and one longtime employee to serve as its two new national directors of reverse sales.
Open Mortgage CEO Scott Gordon was selected as a member of RMD’s “Changemakers” class of 2021. The company also appointed Joe Stephenson as its president at the end of last year, and Stephenson related optimism about the reverse mortgage space soon afterward. The following month, the company added Scott Harkless to the newly-created position of chief revenue officer. In April, they appointed Andrea Easter to be the company’s first chief compliance officer.
According to Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsement data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI), Open Mortgage is the seventh-largest reverse mortgage lender in the country with 2,329 loans over the 12-month period ending in April, 2022.
