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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 16 July 2023 M O V E R S & S H A K E R S five branches, and earning a spot in the top 15% of production at the company, first as a producing Sales Manager and then as a producing Branch Manager. Prior to joining Guild Mortgage, Watson was a Loan Officer with JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. "Through Lamont's leadership, Guild will continue to build a diverse and inclusive organization that thrives on the strengths and talents of its employees, where borrowers and employees feel welcomed and supported," said Mary Ann McGarry, CEO of Guild Mortgage. "My personal experience as a Black man working in the mortgage industry for the past two decades has given me insights and experience to draw from that I'm ready to put to work to help create an environment that supports and empowers Guild's diverse workforce," Watson said. "I think this is a pivotal role, and I'm proud that Guild tapped me to bring my personal perspective as someone who has successfully overcome cultural differences and achieved a high level of success within the mortgage industry to foster diversity and inclusion." With nearly 20 years of success in the mortgage space, Watson has demonstrated his commitment to helping families achieve homeownership and financial goals. Since 2004, he has helped more than 2,500 families, and in 2020, his team surpassed the $50 million volume milestone in service of Guild Mortgage clients. "With this new role, one big area of focus is to build strong relationships and collabora- tions with internal stakeholders and external diversity-focused organizations," Watson added. "To attract and retain diverse talent, we will improve our talent development processes, including mentorship and career advancement opportunities." NEW AMERICAN NAMES NEW EVP OF NATIONAL SALES New American Funding has added industry veteran Andy Pettola as EVP, National Sales, bringing more than 30 years of mortgage industry experience to his new role with the company. Over the course of his career, Pettola has served in senior executive leadership posi- tions in wholesale, retail, and correspondent channels and has built out sales and opera- tional platforms both locally and nationally. While serving in those roles, Pettola set multiple corporate milestones in produc- tion, divisionally and nationally in multiple channels. Earlier in his career, Pettola was the owner of a retail broker shop for seven years and spent time in both processing and underwriting. "We are thrilled to welcome Andy to our company," New American Funding President Christy Bunce said. "Throughout his career, he's shown the ability to balance growth, profitability, and operational support, all while providing best-in-class service to his sales teams and clients alike. We are confi- dent that Andy will use his expertise to take our sales organization to the next level." In his new role, Pettola will focus on growing sales and scaling operations in key strategic markets, as well as developing growth, competitive, and profitability strate- gies globally. CENLAR ADDS THOMAS DONATACCI AS SVP AND INVESTOR RELATIONS OFFICER Ewing, New Jer- sey-based mortgage loan subservicer Cenlar FSB has named Thomas Donatacci as its new SVP and Investor Relations Officer. A well-known leader in the mortgage sector, Donatacci has extensive experience in servicing transactions and subservicing, due diligence, as well as mergers and acquisitions. In his new role with the company, he will be responsible for strengthening relationships with Cenlar's stakeholders—primarily agency investors, shareholders, clients, and rating agencies. "Tom brings invaluable industry insights to Cenlar in addition to a solid track record of delivering results," Cenlar CEO and President Jim Daras said. "Having such deep knowledge of the industry and building relationships, I am confident that Tom will further strengthen our market presence, as well as inform all stakeholders of our strate- gic vision and improvements to the company as we're striving every day to be the very best partner to our clients and their homeown- ers." Prior to joining Cenlar, Donatacci was EVP of Business Development for The Mon- ey Source Inc. and was also Chief of Staff at Impac Holdings Inc., EVP of Special Servic- ing at Selene Finance, and EVP of Clayton Holdings, LLC. "I am excited to be joining Cenlar, the leading subservicer in our industry, at this point in the evolution of the company and my own career," Donatacci said. "My personal experience as a Black man working in the mortgage industry for the past two decades has given me insights and experience to draw from that I'm ready to put to work to help create an environment that supports and empowers Guild's diverse workforce." — Lamont Watson, VP of Diverse Talent Development, Guild Mortgage