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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 16 February 2024 M O V E R S & S H A K E R S Service Providers CALIFORNIA MBA TAPS AMDC CHAIR TO LEAD ITS DE&I COMMITTEE The California Mortgage Bankers Association (California MBA) has named Tai Christensen, President and Co-Founder of national affordable housing program Arrive Home, as Chair of its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Christensen will share the role with Stephanie Whittenberg, who will serve as Vice Chair of the Committee. Christensen and Whittenberg will assist the association with its effort to promote diversity and inclusion within the mortgage lending space, a priority for the organization since it first launched its DE&I Committee in 2021. "I am excited to continue to assist the CMBA's efforts to promote diversity in the mortgage industry," Christensen said. "This is an initiative that has been import- ant to me since I began my career in this space more than 20 years ago. As someone who has dedicated much of their career to helping bridge the homeownership gap in underserved communities, I am eager to initiate more conversations about how industry leaders can effectuate this much-needed change and help advance the future of this profession." Christensen is current Co-Founder and President of Arrive Home, a national affordable housing program dedicat- ed to helping responsible borrowers in underserved communities become homeowners through their Down Pay- ment Assistance offerings and alternative credit solutions. Christensen also serves as Chair of the American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC) and serves as a board member for Axis Lift 360, a nonprofit that focuses on providing the mortgage lending industry with a more diverse tal- ent pool of job candidates. Christensen is the current host of the California MBA's monthly DE&I podcast, which is avail- able on the California MBA's YouTube channel and features industry thought leaders who are actively working to pro- mote DE&I within mortgage lending. She has been featured on Fox Business News, as well as articles in the Washington Post, MReport, Real Estate Weekly, Forbes, and numerous pod- casts. Tai is passionate about assisting creditworthy borrowers in disadvantaged communities become homeowners and build intergenerational wealth through homeownership. "I am looking forward to working with Tai to advance the California MBA's DE&I efforts," Whittenberg said. "She has a pow- erful voice within the mortgage communi- ty, and I am certain that, together, we can effectively bring this important cause to the forefront of industry conversation." FORMER CENLAR EVP JOINS RANIERI SOLUTIONS AS CEO Uniondale, New York-based Ranieri Solutions has announced the appointment of Rob Lux as its CEO where he will spearhead the company's go-to-market efforts for its cloud-native servicing platform. Founded in 2018 by Lewis S. Ranieri, Ranieri Solutions is a financial ser- vices-focused technology company that invests in, develops, and applies innovative technology solutions in the real estate and mortgage industries. The collective Ranieri team has decades of experience in owning, operating, and in- vesting in a broad range of real estate and mortgage-related businesses and strate- gies such as residential and commercial special and primary mortgage servicing businesses, residential and commercial real estate distressed debt investment funds, and large-scale, single-family rental, and rent-to-own strategies. "The business of servicing has long since outgrown available technology which increases borrower dissatisfaction, exposure to risk, inefficiencies, and oper- ating costs," Ranieri said. "Rob's unique background in mortgage includes ex- tensive technology prowess with leading large servicing operations. Coupled with his drive to make positive change for the industry, I am confident Rob's leadership will cement our foundation and position the company as the Best-in-Class provid- er of mortgage technology solutions." The Ranieri platform's standout fea- ture is its uniform core and modern user interface, a modern, cloud-based platform built from the ground-up with servicers in mind, with features including: » Seamless end-to-end servicing for per- forming and default loan processing using a single integrated system » Modern, state-of-the-art cloud-based technology enables security, scalabili- ty, real-time processing, reporting, and analytics that eliminates the limita- tions of mainframe batch systems » Intuitive, modern user interface that is easy to use and does not require extensive training » Automated workflow that enables sophisticated task management » Real-time seamless integration through an API ecosystem » Digital loan file that provides a central repository for documents, images, audio, and video "Our intention is to transform the mortgage technology landscape, beginning with servicing," said Karen Bellezza, Ranieri's COO. "Drawing from his experience as COO for one of the largest servicers in the nation, and CIO responsible for all technology at a GSE, Rob is the perfect addition to lead the team. The strength of the SAP Fioneer platform and the depth of mortgage and servicing knowledge at Ranieri is what this industry needs." With the addition of Lux as CEO, coupled with the recent announcement of a partnership with SAP Fioneer, the company is set to expand upon Lewis Ra- nieri's history of pioneering innovation. "I am both thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to work with Lewis Ranieri, a legendary innovator who transformed our industry. My experience Christensen Whittenberg