William (“Willie”) Newman With 25 years of mortgage industry experience, Mr. Newman is an acknowledged expert and innovator in the field.
Mr. Newman was one of the primary architects behind InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending (InterFirst). Over a period of 8 years, InterFirst grew from a small local mortgage originator to an industry leader in third party lending. In 1997, InterFirst’s parent company, Standard Federal Bank, was acquired by ABN AMRO. Over the following 10 years, Mr. Newman continued the build out of what became ABN AMRO Mortgage Group (AAMG). During his tenure, AAMG became a diverse, multichannel top 5 mortgage lender and top 10 mortgage servicer.
During his tenure at AAMG, Mr. Newman demonstrated the ability to spot opportunity and innovate. Most notably, Mr. Newman led the development of the first Internet-based wholesale lending portal known as MOAI. He also rebuilt Mortgage.com into a leading consumer direct website and lending operation. Finally, Mr. Newman started ABN AMRO Capital Markets Group (AMCAP), which became a leader in direct distribution of originated whole loan products.
Most recently, Mr. Newman built Cole Taylor Mortgage (CTM) from scratch. Over his 4½ year tenure, CTM became a top 40 lender; a top 40 servicer; and a major contributor to Cole Taylor Bank’s financial performance.
Mr. Newman holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and an MBA in Finance and business economics from Wayne State University.
Rob Spellman began his Mortgage Banking career in 1985. He has held senior leadership roles at Flagstar Bank, OneWest Bank, Indymac, Fannie Mae and Washtenaw Mortgage.
His career began at Washtenaw Mortgage, creating their Secondary Marketing hedging and delivery program as well as their Wholesale Lending Channel -- growing Washtenaw Mortgage from a start-up to one of Fannie Mae’s top 40 sellers/servicers. While at Fannie Mae, Mr. Spellman served as a consultant/subject matter expert in product development and risk management for the International Housing Finance Services group on projects in the Caribbean, South America and England.
At Flagstar Bank, he served as EVP Mortgage Banking Production, leading the sales and marketing group to record revenue in 2012. During his tenure at Fannie Mae, he also was the lead product developer for Flex 100, InterestFirst, Enhanced Streamline Refinance and LIBOR based ARMs.
Mr. Spellman earned his MBA and BA in Economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Brian Brizard previously served as the Principal and Founder of 3AB Funding Co. Prior to joining 3AB, Mr. Brizard was with Sallie Mae Home Loans for five years, where he served as President of the home lending group and Vice President of the parent SLM Corp. He helped develop Sallie Mae’s multi-billion dollar retail branch network and wholesale channel which originated and serviced loans in 43 states. Mr. Brizard founded Pioneer Mortgage in 1991, and grew the company from a small mortgage broker to a multi-state mortgage lender with more than $1 Billion in annual volume. Pioneer Mortgage was named an Inc. 500 Company in 1999 and 2002, in recognition of its exceptional rate of growth. He led the sale of Pioneer to Sallie Mae in 2003. At Pioneer he served as President and CEO, and built an exceptional and talented sales force. Under his leadership, Pioneer’s originators were frequently recognized as top producers in the mortgage industry's annual volume surveys.
Mr. Brizard’s professional career has included working with several innovative and successful companies in mortgage, real estate, title insurance, and technology. He served as Board Member and CFO for Online Tech, where he helped lead a sale of the firm to News Press Gazette Company in August 2012. He remains active as a board member of several portfolio companies of 3AB.
Mr. Brizard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University at Sacramento and an MBA with Finance Concentration from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Howard Nathan is a financial executive with over 20 years of experience leading financial organizations, most notably as Chief Financial Officer for nearly 16 years. Mr. Nathans’ experience spans the development of start-up companies to managing multi-million dollar operations, working closely with leadership teams to develop corporate growth strategies and operational process improvements. As an organizational leader, he has been instrumental in developing strategic relationships with vendors and financial institutions to assist in the achievement of corporate goals and objectives. Mr. Nathan also has a track record of building successful financial and operational teams that promote innovation and improve operational efficiencies.
As Mortgage Director of Finance at MB Financial Bank, Mr. Nathan assisted in growing revenue from zero to nearly $150M for a new division, led the acquisition and expansion of a mortgage servicing operation, created accounting infrastructure for the start-up division and reduced costs to provide strategic flexibility for the growing organization. During his tenure, he created innovative solutions and streamlined processes to reduce costs and save time on month-end closings.
Prior to his work at MB Financial Bank, Mr. Nathan held CFO positions at Equity Services, Inc., Shore Financial Services, Lender Ltd., and Washtenaw Mortgage Company. In these roles, he focused on investor relationships, warehouse lines of credit, SEC reporting, accounting efficiencies and liquidity strategies. Additionally, he worked as an independent consultant, providing guidance on SEC filings, corporate restructurings and dissolution of a publically traded company.
Mr. Nathan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Michigan State University. Additionally, he is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Michigan.