Spokespeople

Abarca leads the company’s direct lending operations and oversees direct production and its associated teams, including processing, underwriting, and closing. She also directs various cross-department and cross-channel initiatives designed to enhance cycle times and service levels. An 18-year mortgage industry veteran, Viviana has significant experience in lending operations, specifically processing, underwriting and closing. 

Talking Points 
Loan processing and automation, post-origination loan fulfillment process including underwriting, appraisal, escrow, and disbursements.

As chief information officer, Brady is the company’s top technology executive and oversees all of loanDepot’s technology capabilities, including its groundbreaking proprietary platform, mello®. With a special talent for spearheading technological innovation, Brady continues cultivating a culture of technical excellence as he and his team expand the company’s capacity to meet and exceed customer expectations. Under his leadership, loanDepot continues to advance in its ongoing quest to change the game for customers and originators and transform mortgage lending.

Talking Points 
Mortgage tech and innovation, AI. 

A 14-year veteran of the financial services industry, Cruz supports loanDepot’s diversity lending practices and ensures homebuyers are properly represented in the communities loanDepot serves. He also leads the company’s educational initiatives for first-time home buyers. 

Talking Points 
First-time home buying, diversity lending practices.

DerGurahian leads the company’s secondary and capital markets efforts and delivers data-driven insights at the crossroads of the US economy and mortgage and housing markets. Through extensive research, DerGurahian and his team analyze the factors facing today’s unprecedented markets, forecasting mortgage origination and macroeconomic trends to shape loanDepot’s business strategy. 

Talking Points 
The markets, macroeconomic trends, mortgage forecasting.

As CMO, Hanson leads loanDepot’s marketing team, overseeing the development of brand, digital marketing, and organic and digital lead generation campaigns that drive awareness and revenue growth while differentiating loanDepot’s marketing engine as a competitive advantage for loan originators. 

Hanson joined loanDepot in 2011, most recently serving as the company’s senior vice president of production for the West division. His impressive career as a top originator began in 2004. As an industry thought leader driven to equip, train, and evolve the traditional mortgage professional’s skill sets into the modern era, he authored “Bypassed: A Modern Guide for Local Mortgage Pros Left Behind by the Digital Customer” and loanDepot’s “Modern Lending Playbook,” and his “Modern Lending” podcast has emerged as an industry go-to. 

Talking Points 
Modern lending, customer journey.  

In his role, Hanson has helped grow loanDepot’s Retail business into one of the largest in the United States. His finance and mortgage career spans more than 35 years. Before joining loanDepot, Hanson was an executive vice president of national production at iMortgage and a senior vice president and managing director at Bank of America. He has held leadership positions at Norwest Mortgage, Wells Fargo and Countrywide.

Talking Points 
Mortgage products, the home buying process.

Madonna leads the loanDepot’s direct lending team, providing guidance for hundreds of top performers and emerging producers nationwide. He brings more than 23 years of mortgage industry experience to his role, beginning his career as a loan officer and moving quickly through the ranks to move from Sales Operations Manager to Director of National Sales before being promoted to EVP, Direct Sales.   

Talking Points 
Mortgage refinancing.

Rugg oversees critical quality, integrity, compliance, and loan operations across loanDepot’s go-to-market channels and functional teams. In addition to his role at loanDepot, Rugg is pursuing his Ph.D. on expanding access to (mortgage) credit in underserved communities at the University of Denver Daniels College of Business.

Talking Points 
Mortgage products, credit and underwriting issues, expanding access to credit in underserved communities, data security.