loanDepot Leadership

Known as the architect of modern lending, Anthony Hsieh is a trailblazing disruptor whose prowess for market timing, innovation and diversification has enabled him to lead and revolutionize an industry. Over his three decades-long career, he has systematically discerned trends in consumer home buying and online behaviors that have enabled him to chart a new course for the contemporary mortgage lending journey.

While Anthony is best known as the Founder of loanDepot, he is an entrepreneur by nature, having founded and led loansdirect.com and HomeLoanCenter.com prior to their successful sales to E*Trade and IAC/Interactive, respectively. Each of these companies was known to be on the forefront of product and technological innovation, and notably, with regard to loansdirect.com, recognized as being one the world’s first online internet-based financial services companies.

In the eleven short years since Anthony launched loanDepot, the company has grown to become the second-largest nonbank retail-focused lender, and third largest retail-focused lender overall in the country, accelerating faster than almost any other at-scale modern lender in history. In a highly fragmented and competitive market landscape, loanDepot has funded over $350 billion since inception and serves over 30,000 customers a month. In a reflection of the company’s success, loanDepot became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange on February 11, 2021.

The company’s achievements are made possible thanks to Anthony’s vision and commitment—and his courage to disrupt the status quo. Anthony showed tremendous courage to launch the company in 2010; a time when both the industry and consumers faced tremendous headwinds. However, Anthony’s understanding of consumer needs and behavior, coupled with his unique experience and insight into technology and lending prevailed, quickly propelling loanDepot to funding 1,000 loans in a single month after less than one year in business.

In 2013, Anthony further bucked conventional wisdom and led loanDepot’s metamorphosis from a single-threaded direct-to-consumer powerhouse to one that also serves customers through incredibly successful local in-market and partnership (joint venture and wholesale) channels, notably becoming the only successful non-bank at-scale model of this type in the industry today.

This diversification philosophy, as well as Anthony’s belief in technology’s ability to transform an outdated industry, led to an overall reshuffling of the industry deck. In 2017 and 2019 respectively, Anthony conceived and introduced his proprietary mello® technology (whose name is aptly derived from the Greek phrase ‘about to be’) and the mello smartloan™– both of which have enabled loanDepot to further differentiate itself from traditional lenders, improve customer and originator experiences and increase overall loan fulfillment efficiencies.

Customers recognize and gravitate to the experiences and brands Anthony has built over time. Currently, loanDepot is the second-most recognized brand in the industry today and earns satisfaction scores on par with world-class brands like Apple and Square. In addition, Anthony continues to lead the loanDepot brand to new heights, having recently signed an exclusive rights agreement with Major League Baseball to become the league’s Official Mortgage Provider. Anthony also recently partnered with the Miami Marlins, led by CEO Derek Jeter, to establish the world-class Miami sports and entertainment venue, loanDepot park.

In addition to cultivating exceptional brand and customer experiences, Anthony has also created one of the most unique, rewarding employment cultures in America. Creating jobs for nearly 11,000 team members across the nation, Anthony’s entrepreneurial spirit permeates every corner of his company, creating an atmosphere of innovation, accountability, camaraderie and spirit to serve, proudly known as the ‘Team loanDepot’ all-in attitude.

Anthony also is a steward of the industry and takes his responsibility as an industry leader to heart. Anthony is frequently called upon to speak on industry issues across national news outlets and has provided industry keynote addresses and fireside chats at such notable events as the Mortgage Banking Association’s Annual Convention, LendIt China, LendIt USA, the Digital Mortgage Conference and the Digital Lending + Investing Conference. Known to be an authentic straight-shooter, Anthony also helped reinvent the way in which public figures and leaders utilize social media for direct connections and conversations with peers, constituents, employees and customers. In honor of these contributions and more, Anthony has been recognized as LendIt’s Fintech Executive of the Year (2018) and AREAA’s Person of the Year (2017).

Anthony takes great pride in serving communities across the nation. In 2020, Anthony led the donation of $3M to pandemic relief and has given countless hours to a cause near to his heart – serving America’s veteran heroes. In 2018, Anthony—one of the most successful, winningest competitive sportfishermen of all time—conceptualized War Heroes on Water (WHOW), a therapeutic sportfishing tournament designed to honor and heal combat-wounded veterans. Since inception, WHOW has assisted hundreds of veterans across the nation and raised over $1M to support ongoing therapeutic healing services. This year, Anthony is leading the WHOW team in efforts to host 100 veterans at the annual tournament and raise an additional $1M for veteran relief services.

Frank has more than 30 years’ executive leadership experience and a proven track record of delivering scaled market leadership and growth in revenues and profitability that have resulted in significant stakeholder value creation. He keenly understands the real estate market, along with the power of data, and brings a digital-first mindset to further accelerate our use of technology to deliver superior service for our customers.

As president and CEO, Frank is responsible for all daily operations and leads the company’s diversified multi-channel mortgage origination model (direct lending, in-market retail, wholesale and joint venture), as well as mello, the company’s mortgage-adjacent product and service groups which includes mellohome, melloinsurance, and mellotitle.

Prior to loanDepot, Frank spent 11 years in leadership positions at CoreLogic, where he cemented the company’s reputation as the gold standard for real estate data, intelligence, and analytics. He joined CoreLogic in 2011 and served has the company’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer before assuming the position of CEO and member of the board in 2017. Frank was instrumental in transforming CoreLogic into a global leader in residential property data, analytics and digital platforms. In 2016, he received the HousingWire Vanguard Award in recognition of his distinguished leadership in the housing industry. He also served on the boards of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Harvard Joint Centers for Housing Studies.

Prior to CoreLogic, Frank held a variety of senior positions in the marketing, financial services, and business information sectors. He spent the first 15 years of his career in a number of financial management roles at General Electric; he subsequently held business leadership roles including chief operating officer of ACNielsen and chief executive officer of the Western Institutional Review Board.

Frank currently serves on the boards of Bank of the West, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas and Compass, Inc., a technology-enabled residential real estate brokerage. He is also a passionate supporter of building better communities as a member of the boards of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, the largest and oldest group supporting the education of the sons and daughters of active and prior service Marines, and Operation HOPE, a provider of financial literacy and empowerment for youth and minority communities.

Jeff Walsh, President, LDI Mortgage, has a wide-ranging role that touches a broad swatch of the Company’s activities. In addition to overseeing the technological development of the Company’s products and the IT team, he also leads the Company’s Retail, Wholesale and JV production and operations activities. Further, Jeff also has oversight of the Human Resources team as well as the Company’s Closing USA escrow and title services unit.

Jeff joined loanDepot in 2012, bringing with him more than 20 years’ experience in mortgage lending. During this tenure, he has overseen the growth and production of many of the Company’s departments, including operations, processing, human resources, vendor management and escrow.

Jeff attended West Valley College in Saratoga, California and San Jose City College in San Jose, California. He also attended executive development programs at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Colorado Springs Center for Creative Leadership.

Zeenat Sidi is President, LDI Digital Products and Services, where she leads the development of loanDepot, Inc.’s mortgage-adjacent digital-first products and services that complement the company’s core mortgage and servicing operations platform. Zeenat boasts 25 years of experience in P&L leadership, digital transformation, risk management, operations, and strategy at several well-known financial institutions in the US and Canada.

Zeenat joined loanDepot in 2022 from Mission Lane where she was Business Head of Digital Banking and Financial Services and led the development of various product offerings to augment credit cards. Prior to this role, Zeenat served as GM of Enterprise Lending, Investing and Data at Galileo Financial Technologies (a SoFi company), where she spearheaded a major strategic transformation that converted Galileo from a powerful payment processing platform to a company that offers a full suite of financial services products through a modern API-based payments platform. Previously, Zeenat was the EVP and Group Business Head of SoFi’s lending businesses, comprised of student loans, personal unsecured loans, and home loans – a digitally-powered business that she built and scaled from the ground up, to a record and industry-leading profitability profile further enhancing her deep FinTech expertise.

Prior to SoFi, Zeenat served as GM of the Home Equity business at Capital One after being the COO of the Home Loans business. During this time, she developed the strategy that moved the Home Loans business into the top quartile for customer experience in the industry, while ensuring positive unit economics through automation and process reengineering. She also brings diverse experience with RBC, including as the GM of the Personal Unsecured, Auto and Student Lending businesses during the financial crisis, leading a 2,500-person Risk Operations team, and overseeing Portfolio Management and Credit Strategy for the largest consumer loan, credit card and small business financing portfolios in Canada. She began her career in credit modeling and consulting with Experian and FICO.

Zeenat holds an MBA with Fuqua Scholar Distinction from Duke University, a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Analysis from the University of Miami. She serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee of the Board for the Texas Women’s Foundation, the largest regional non-profit women’s fund in the country committed to advancing positive social and economic change for women and girls.

EVP and Chief Information Officer George Brady is the company’s top technology executive and oversees all of loanDepot’s technology capabilities, including its groundbreaking proprietary platform, mello®.

With a special talent for spearheading technological innovation, George is focused on leading the world-class mello® platform to new heights while continuing to cultivate a culture of technical excellence and expanding loanDepot’s capacity to meet and exceed changing expectations of its customers. Under George’s leadership, loanDepot continues to advance its ongoing quest to change the game for customers and originators and revolutionize the mortgage lending industry.

George brings nearly 35 years of technology and innovation leadership across a variety of financial services firms, most recently serving as Chief Technology Officer at Capital One. While there he led a comprehensive digital transformation of that company’s software and risk management capabilities.

Prior to Capital One, George held technology leadership roles at Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, and Morgan Stanley & Company.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, George earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.

Nicole Carrillo, EVP, Chief Accounting Officer, is responsible for managing loanDepot’s financial and accounting operations, investor relations, corporate real estate, internal audit and vendor management functions.

Nicole brings more than 17 years’ experience to the role, having most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Opus Bank, where she oversaw all accounting and financial functions, including financial performance, planning and reporting, liquidity management, investment portfolio performance, capital and interest rate risk management and the coordination of external auditors, investors and banking regulators. Nicole also was part of the management team that led Opus Bank through its initial public offering in 2014.

Prior to Opus Bank, Nicole was a senior manager in the audit practice of KPMG, LLP, serving a variety of private and public financial services clients.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University and is a California Chartered CPA. She also serves on the board of the United Way of Orange County and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Orange Coast.

Jeff DerGurahian, Chief Capital Markets Officer, oversees the Company’s secondary and capital markets efforts including investor relations, loan trading, hedging, pricing strategies and product development. Jeff has served in this capacity for eight years.

Prior to joining loanDepot, Jeff was EVP of Capital Markets for Prospect Mortgage, LLC, and also served as a hedge manager for Tuttle Risk Management Services before joining Prospect (formerly MetroCities Mortgage).

Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Virginia.

Patrick Flanagan, Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for managing all of loanDepot’s financial actions, including its accounting, treasury, tax, corporate finance and investor and lender relations activities.

Patrick brings more than 30 years’ experience in investment management and consumer finance experience within the fintech lending space, having most recently served as Executive Vice President at Carrington Mortgage Services. His leadership roles include a variety of executive positions within capital management, mortgage lending and digital financial services industries.

A graduate of Monmouth College, Patrick has managed the origination, acquisition and servicing of more than $400 billion in residential mortgage and residential real estate assets.

TJ Freeborn is the EVP, Chief Administrative Officer at loanDepot. In this role, TJ leads customer experience, employee experience, enterprise creative, communications and public relations practices for the company, as well as serves as a strategic partner on enterprise-wide cross-functional initiatives. TJ also co-manages loanDepot philanthropic and community outreach efforts and is one of the team leaders of the annual War Heroes on Water Tournament, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Veterans' services since inception.

TJ brings more than 25 years of financial services experience, and more than a decade of focused home lending expertise, to her role at loanDepot. Before joining the company, TJ held leadership positions at Discover Financial Services, wherein she led home equity loan operations and servicing, as well as oversaw marketing acquisition, customer experience and creative development for Discover’s mortgage products. Prior to Discover, TJ served as Vice President, Marketing at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. In this role, TJ was responsible for branding and creative development and was a key partner on cross-functional company regulatory and strategic initiatives, such as the SAFE Act implementation and multi-channel marketing-on-demand platform launches.

TJ is a graduate of Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, where she was a founding member of the college’s Logos Honors Program.

As chief risk officer Joe Grassi is responsible for loanDepot’s enterprise risk management program. A proven senior leader known for delivering exceptional results, Joe’s expansive expertise within the real estate and financial services industries and substantial regulatory experience helps ensure the company delivers on its commitment to superior customer service.

His responsibilities include the overall direction and strategy of the company’s risk management program, including the design and implementation of both enterprise- and loan-level governance policies and procedures. Additionally, Joe provides strategic counsel on the management of potential risks to help reduce the frequency and severity of operational issues and losses, in addition to positioning the company for continued growth.

Joe brings more than 35 years' experience in real estate finance and consumer lending compliance and law to the role, which includes leadership positions within such companies and government agencies as Celebrity Home Loans, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Guaranteed Rate, and Prospect Mortgage. He also spent time at Freddie Mac.

Notably, Joe spent 20 years as a senior attorney for Fannie Mae, including as the lead counsel for the multifamily and single family businesses. He ultimately served as the interim general counsel and corporate secretary for Fannie Mae, where he was responsible for overseeing Fannie Mae’s legal and government and industry relations departments and providing strategic counsel to the CEO and Board.

Joe began his career at Philadelphia-based law firm Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel and holds both a Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Villanova University.

As chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Gregg Smallwood oversees all aspects of loanDepot’s legal strategy and operations as well as various enterprise, shareholder and corporate governance matters, playing a key role in ensuring the company continues to provide exceptional service to its customers, employees and investors.

Gregg has represented major financial services institutions across all aspects of compliance with state and federal law, corporate transactional matters, regulatory enforcement and class action litigation for the majority of his legal career. His areas of expertise include developing and implementing legal initiatives, managing and reducing risk, executing strategic plans and achieving revenue performance targets.

Prior to joining loanDepot, Gregg served as general counsel and executive vice president for Caliber Home Loans. He’s also held senior roles at Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Saxon Mortgage, GMAC ResCap and Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation. He started his career as an attorney at L’Oréal Cosmetics Corporation.

Gregory holds a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland.

Kevin Tackaberry, EVP, Human Resources, is focused on helping the Company continue to expand its exceptional talent foundation. Specializing in leading organizations through complex change, high growth, and achieving organizational goals leveraging talent, lean process and technology, Kevin brings more than 25 years’ experience to the role.

His ability to lead teams that successfully attract and retain exceptional team members has been at the core of his career. He also has successfully built human resource process and tools that provide employees with the opportunity to excel and to serve customers more effectively.

Prior to joining loanDepot, Kevin served as Chief Human Capital Officer for Prospect Mortgage, LLC, CHRO & CIO for a division of Ford Motor Credit Company, and held variety of human resource positions with 3M, among other national brands.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and an MBA in Human Resource Management from Michigan State University. He also is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the Human Resources Professionals Association and served as president for the National Human Resources Association.