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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 14 December 2025 rather untapped market for us, so we wanted an Agency Representative who has deep roots within that territory, strong knowledge of the business, com- petitive drive, and respect from their peers," said Erik Helgeson, VP, Western States Area Manager. "Jennifer Smith is who we were looking for." Smith has worked in title insurance for over 35 years. She started her career in the industry as a student, putting her- self through college. Since then, she has gained impressive knowledge and ex- perience in a variety of roles, including Title Examiner, Escrow Officer, Branch Manager, County Manager, and Area Manager. During her time as an Area Manager, she also ran a commercial/ ranch escrow desk for select customers. "Smith's success is built on her ability to develop significant connec- tions and relationships with clients and partners," Westcor said. She also has worked with some of the industry's strongest leaders in the Mountain Region. She worked for the largest title agent in Montana, and she was the assistant to the largest commercial real estate broker in the state. Smith served as president of the Montana Land Title Association from 2017 to 2018. She has also served as board chair of the Big Sky Economic Development Authority. FIRSTCLOSE APPOINTS ADAM NICHOLSON AS DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FirstClose, a fintech provider of data and workf low solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, an- nounced the appoint- ment of Adam Nicholson as Director of Professional Services. Nicholson will lead the company's implementation operations, including project delivery, process optimization and cross-func- tional coordination to enhance the customer experience. In this new position, Nicholson will oversee implementation strategy, guide project scopes and timelines, estab- lish policies and standard operating procedures, and collaborate with executive leadership to ensure delivery frameworks align with organizational objectives. He will also support the refinement of onboarding practices and client-driven product enhancements to strengthen adoption and long-term value for lenders. "Adam brings a deep background in professional services leadership across mortgage and financial technology," said Tedd Smith, co-founder and CEO of FirstClose. "His ability to build strong teams, streamline processes, and deliver measurable results will help us further accelerate implementation efficiency and reinforce the value lend- ers experience when partnering with FirstClose." Nicholson has more than 12 years of experience directing implementation, customer success, and professional ser- vices teams within the fintech sector. He most recently served as an enter- prise client success manager at Blend. He previously held director-level roles at Polly and SimpleNexus, where he led implementation groups, established onboarding processes, reduced delivery timelines and collaborated with prod- uct and engineering teams to support customer-driven improvements. Earlier in his career, Nicholson spent six years in software implementation leadership roles at Accenture, developing deep expertise in mortgage technology, regulatory compliance, and system integration. M O V E R S & S H A K E R S "Adam brings a deep background in professional services leadership across mortgage and financial technology. His ability to build strong teams, streamline processes, and deliver measurable results will help us further accelerate implementation efficiency and reinforce the value lenders experience when partnering with FirstClose." —Tedd Smith, co-founder and CEO, FirstClose