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January 2024 ยป thefivestar.com 17 January 2024 M O V E R S & S H A K E R S Shanth joined Cenlar in 2016 as a Solu- tions Architect and has been promoted up through his current role of Director of IT, where he continues to be a high performer and outstanding leader within technology. In his new leadership role, Shanth will continue to lead the company's automa- tion efforts and digital program strategy. Shanth has more than 20 years of techni- cal leadership and expertise. Before Cenlar, Shanth served as a Digital Program Manager and Strategist for Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. He also held several Solutions Architect and technical program management roles at Collaborative Consulting, GMAC Mort- gage Corp./Ally Bank and Accenture Con- sulting. Shanth holds a MBA in finance from the University of Findlay and an M.S. in information systems management from the University of Akron. He also holds sev- eral professional certifications, including Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and the Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP). Cifelli, in her new role, will focus on both strategic and tactical execution for all internal communication plans and activities across the enterprise, as well as employee engagement. She will be responsible for developing the vision and strategy for effective and consistent communication plans that promote Cenlar's internal branding and enhanc- ing the company's culture and employee experience that aligns to Cenlar's corpo- rate goals. Dana is a strategic marketing and communications leader with over 15 years of experience in branding strategies and project management. Dana joined Cenlar in 2021 to lead the Contact Center Communications. Prior to coming to Cenlar, Dana was with Verizon for more than 10 years where she held several leadership roles, including Chief of Staff. She earned her master's in business administration from Centenary University and a bachelor's in hospitality management from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dana also holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Drakesmith, in his new role, will partner with business stakeholders to provide reporting and analytics for operational, financial, and program performance for loan servicing. He will continue to further Cenlar's automation efforts for reporting services for our clients, investors, and internal business partners as part of our technology trans- formation strategy. Drakesmith joined Cenlar in 2018 and has more than 25 years of mortgage banking and financial services experi- ence. Before Cenlar, David worked at CitiMortgage, where he held several se- nior leadership roles in default servicing and project management. David earned his bachelor's in administrative manage- ment from Missouri State University. Felix joined Cenlar in 2021 as Director of Information Technology and will con- tinue to lead the Servicing Systems team. She has more than 35 years of mortgage banking experience, having held IT project management leadership positions at Ocwen Financial, GMAC ResCap, and GMAC Mortgage Corp. She has extensive experience with the operation and tech- nology aspects of loan servicing and is well versed in the development of information systems strategies and policies across complex functional levels. ANGEL OAK CAPITAL ADVISORS HIRES INSTITUTIONAL CRE VETERAN Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC, an investment manage- ment firm that specializes in value-driven structured credit, has announced the hiring of Sumit Sasidharan to serve as its Head of Commercial Real Estate, where he will lead the firm's CRE platform, focusing on growing Angel Oak's CRE fund offerings at an institutional level, while managing and expanding the firm's permanent and bridge-loan financing solutions. In addition to overseeing approxi- mately $300 million in CRE loans under Angel Oak's existing lending platform and various private strategies, Sasidharan will continue Angel Oak's active presence in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market. He also intends to explore new strategies aimed at raising capital that will be deployed opportu- nistically in the debt and equity CRE markets in 2024 and beyond. "Angel Oak is positioned to seize the current and brewing opportunities in the CRE space for institutional investors, given the firm's expertise in the broader real estate market, and I look forward to leading this major initiative," Sasidha- ran said. "We believe we can deliver an institutional approach to serving CRE financing needs in the middle-market space, stepping into the role that many banks once filled. At the same time, we will seek to create unique investment strategies for our investors who want to deploy new capital and take advantage of dislocations in the real estate market." Prior to joining Angel Oak, Sasidha- ran served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate Capital Markets at Ares Management, where he ad- ministered a diverse portfolio with $52 billion in assets under management, encompassing debt and equity in CRE assets with varying liquidity profiles. Sasidharan expedited the company's leverage exposure, interest rate sensitiv- ity, liquidity and rate hedging strategies while also leading the capital markets team responsible for all equity and debt financing strategies. Previously, Sasidharan served as Managing Director and Head of CRE capital markets at Annaly Capital Management from 2011 to 2017, where he led the capital markets team responsible for all CRE debt pricing, financing, and trading strategies. During his tenure, he developed and implemented a levered CMBS strategy, managing more than $850 million in equity. Sasidharan formerly held CMBS-focused roles at CWCapital and Fitch Ratings. "Sumit is the best fit to lead this growth initiative and evolve our CRE platform, as he brings an exceptional track record of scaling and managing CRE focused funds at the institutional level," said Sreeni Pra- bhu, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Angel Oak. "We are excited for him to join our team as we work to deliver exceptional outcomes for our investors."