The week in industry hires and promotions: September 12-16, 2016

Patrick McClain

Auction.com announced that it hired Patrick McClain as the senior vice president of auction portfolio operations. “Patrick McClain is well respected for his deep knowledge of the real estate industry and for his ability to drive teams toward exceeding client goals and objectives,” said Javid Jaberi, executive vice president of operations for auction.com, in a statement. “I’m confident that his impactful leadership style, commitment to excellence, and bias for action will make him a valuable asset to auction.com and our entire client base.”

Joseph Stepchuk

Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, announced Joseph Stepchuk has been named a managing director. “Joe brings a wealth of experience to Greystone, from over a decade of loan production on the Agency side to underwriting, servicing and workouts, all of which are invaluable as we strive to maintain the most comprehensive understanding of property owners’ financing challenges,” said Joe Mosley, executive managing director and head of agency production, in a statement. “We are thrilled that Joe will help boost multifamily loan production at a time when demand is rapidly growing.”

Claudia Merkle

Emeryville, California-based National Mortgage Insurance Corporation has named Claudia Merkle as its chief operating officer. “Claudia’s promotion to COO is well-deserved,” said Bradley Shuster, CEO, in a statement. “She has demonstrated exceptional leadership abilities and has been a key contributor to National MI’s success.”

Joanne Zavlaris

Alain Pinel Realtors prmoted Joanne Zavlaris to career development director for the San Francisco North Bay. “Throughout Joanne’s career she has built a reputation as an effective coach and mentor. Her market knowledge, experience and ability to relate to others are just a few of the skills she will bring to this new role,” said Rainy Hake, COO of APR, in a statement. “We are thrilled to apply Joanne’s knowledge and experience to our training team, and we look forward to the positive results ahead.”

September 13

Zak Schwarzman

MetaProp NYC, a real estate technology accelerator, announced that Zak Schwarzman has joined the company as founding partner, MetaProp Venture Capital. “Zak Schwarzman is a rising star in technology venture capital and we are proud that he has chosen to take the next big step in his career by building out and managing MetaProp’s venture capital business,” said Zachary Aarons, co-founder, MetaProp NYC, in a statement. “As an early stage investment professional, Zak combines intellectual heft and New York City based experience that he will bring to bear on behalf of MetaProp in the booming RETech venture community.”

Law firm McDermott Will & Emery announced that real estate finance attorney Daniel Martin has joined as a partner in the firm’s corporate and transactional practice in New York. “Daniel has an impressive background in representing institutions and funds in a wide range of real estate acquisitions and financings,” said Keith Pattiz, head of McDermott’s Real Estate Practice, in a statement. “He will increase the depth of our real estate practice, expand our capacity, and help us continue to grow our client base here in New York and internationally.”

September 14

Open Mortgage, a nationwide mortgage lender based in Austin, Texas, has named Kevin McKnight vice president of sales. “Kevin is an accomplished, results-driven and passionate leader. With his well-rounded leadership experience, Kevin will take charge by empowering the growth and success of our business and those we serve,” said Scott Gordon, Open Mortgage founder and CEO, in a statement.

A.W. Pickel III

A.W. Pickel, III, has joined Houston-based AmCap Mortgage as president of its new midwestern division. “It is a tremendous pleasure to have an executive of A.W.’s reputation and experience join the AmCap team,” said AmCap CEO Garrett Clayton in a statement. His record of achievement, innovation and industry leadership harmonizes perfectly with AmCap’s commitment to growth, organizational excellence and superior borrower experiences across our entire network.”

September 15

Pat Forgione

Lendful, a Canadian online lending startup, announced that Pat Forgione is the company’s new chief technology officer. “Pat is one of Canada’s top fintech executives,” said Lendful co-founder and CEO Alex Benjamin in a statement. “He brings a depth of experience that is going to continue galvanizing our technical development and management teams.”

Horacio LeDon

Partners Trust, a Los Angeles brokerage, announced that Horacio LeDon has joined the brokerage as head of new development. “We are delighted that Horacio chose Partners Trust,” said Nick Segal, CEO and founder of Partners Trust, in a statement. “It’s a pure joy having someone with Horacio’s know-how of all aspects of new development, his industry-leading experience, and sales track record to become part of our team and to be at the helm of this new division.”

Scott Grossman

The Denver Metro Association of Realtors announced its merger with the Douglas Elbert Realtor Association and a newly elected board of directors and a new chairman, Scott Grossman. ““Our merger with DERA is a huge opportunity for us to better serve Realtors throughout Denver Metro, and beyond,” said Grossman in a statement. “This coming year, we are focused on celebrating inclusion and harnessing our unified voice as Realtors to make meaningful changes in the industry.” 

Alyssa Hellman

Bamboo Realty announced that it has hired Alyssa Hellman as its new head coach.

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