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BILL STARKEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD | FOUNDER
Bill Starkey, a well-respected leader in the mortgage industry has brought his experience and wisdom to Highlands Residential Mortgage along with an energetic vision to grow Highlands into a multi-state production franchise.
After serving 4 ½ years in the US Airforce, Bill began his career in Mortgage Banking. He started as a Loan Officer at Lomas Mortgage USA in 1969. Bill’s responsibilities increased steadily throughout the years. He filled roles as Branch Manager, Regional Manager and ultimately served the company as Executive Vice President of National Production before resigning in 1989. He was President of Temple Inland Mortgage (formerly Lumbermen’s Investment Corporation) from 1989 to 1992. He then became Chairman and CEO of AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation in 1992 until it was sold in early 2000. During his leadership at AccuBanc, he assembled a team that grew the company’s production volume from $650 million in 1992 to $13.2 billion in 1998. He further went on and served Ampro Mortgage Corporation as Chairman and CEO from 2002 – 2006.
Bill is a leader in the business and non-profit communities as well. He served as past President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association and on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and as a Director for Kilgore Federal Savings and Loan. He has also served on the Board of numerous non-profit organizations such as Interfaith Housing Coalition and The Deaf Action Center. He currently serves as a Director for the Texas Department of Public Safety Foundation. Additionally, Bill is the founding Chairman of the Board of Project Imagine Foundation, an organization he established after traveling to South Africa in 2009 where he witnessed first-hand the HIV/AIDS crises in Sub-Saharan Africa and he currently serves as a Director of the THEMBA Foundation.
Bill is a long term member of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, he served on the Board of Elders, as Treasurer and Board of Trustees for Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church Foundation. Bill and his wife Carron reside in Dallas and have two sons and five grandchildren.
KEN HICKMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | FOUNDER
Mr. Hickman brings more than 28 years of experience, achievements and success in the mortgage banking industry to his role as CEO of Highlands Residential Mortgage. As a founding Partner and Member of the company, Ken identified and negotiated the purchase transaction of Mortex Lending, Ltd., the predecessor entity to Highlands. Ken now directs a broad range of the company’s strategic and tactical activities, integrating those functions with his deep mortgage experience and broad industry network.
Prior to his role at Highlands, Mr. Hickman served AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation as Chief Financial Officer from 1983 until its sale in 2000. After serving AmPro Mortgage as CFO until its sale in 2006, Ken formed Mortgage Support Group, which benefitted a wide array of mortgage companies clients.
He serves as the Chairman of the Themba Foundation, an organization working with Rehoboth Children’s Village, a home to orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, he is Chairman of the Genesis Trust, also an HIV/AIDS ministry, located in South Africa. A long-time resident of Rockwall, Texas, Mr. Hickman and his wife have three children.
BRIAN BENNETT | PRESIDENT
Brian Bennett joined Highlands Residential Mortgage in May 2013 as President of the organization. Brian provides daily leadership in all areas of the company with a keen focus on ensuring Production and Operations work closely together in delivering the ultimate home buying experience to our customers. As a former originator with a track record of growing world class production teams, Brian’s unique perspective on supporting today’s Loan Officer at the highest of levels continues to be a driving force behind the company’s record setting growth. His professional can-do attitude, experience, and servant leadership mentality all have a major impact on the success of Highlands.
Brian has spent his entire adult life in the mortgage business and brings over 29 years of experience to the Highlands leadership team. Beginning his career in Operations before moving on to the Sales side of the business, Brian quickly established a valuable foundation that eventually progressed to becoming a proven Production leader in the industry. Brian has served in such capacities as a top producing Loan Officer, producing Branch Manager, producing Regional Manager, Chief Lending Officer, managing sales nationally and President.
Brian has also been recognized by Mortgage Executive Magazine each year since 2015 as one of the 100 Most Influential Mortgage Executives in America.
DANNY DEATON, EVP | NATIONAL PRODUCTION MANAGER
With over 30 years of experience in the banking and mortgage banking fields, Danny leads the sales team as the Executive Vice President/National Production Manager for Highlands Residential Mortgage. Danny is a proven veteran in mortgage banking. His career has primarily been centered on production but he also has a strong overall working knowledge of operations. As an Executive Member of our management team, his focus is recruiting Loan Officers and Production Managers across the country, with emphasis on professionalism, loan quality and business development.
During his 11 year tenure at CTX Mortgage Company he served in such capacities as State, Regional and National Production Manager. Danny also recently served as EVP/National Production Manager at SWBC Mortgage Corporation where he was instrumental in building a strong production platform. Danny’s ability to recruit, train and lead our production unit has resulted in increased business and outstanding growth at Highlands.
Danny is a past President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas and in 2005 was named Mortgage Banker of the Year for that organization.
BRIAN STARKEY, EVP | PUBLIC RELATIONS & HR – FOUNDER
As a founding Partner of Highlands Residential Mortgage, Brian has been deeply involved in all aspects of the company with particular focus on the company’s growth and production support. As Executive Vice President, he currently oversees Public Relations, Human Resources, and Facilities for Highlands Residential Mortgage. All of Brian’s mortgage career has been committed to and focused on maximizing his organizations’ productivity. While at AccuBanc Mortgage, he was directly responsible for all aspects of Wholesale and community Bank relationships in North Texas and Oklahoma, including personnel, pricing and profit/loss management. Brian’s leadership and ability to recruit, train and retain high quality professionals resulted in a significant growth of volume and profits for the Wholesale Division. Having started the Wholesale and Community Bank Business Division from its inception, Brian was also instrumental in developing the operations platform to support it. In addition Brian was also a founding Member and Partner of WR Starkey Mortgage Corporation, where he brought his skills, investment leadership and experience to develop that company’s successful retail lending operation.
LORI RILEY, EVP | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Ms. Riley is responsible for the ongoing management of all accounting, financial and treasury functions at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Lori’s background includes 27 years in the mortgage industry, having provided leadership and financial management for companies such as Bank of America, The Bank of New York Trust Company, Countrywide Home Loans, AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation and Lomas Mortgage USA. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, Lori received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (graduating cum laude), majoring in Finance. She also holds an MBA degree from Baylor University, earning a GPA of 4.0. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.
STEVE PETERS, EVP | CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Steve is an industry veteran of more than 22 years beginning his career in sales, quickly becoming a top LO and branch manager before moving into operations. Steve has held mostly operational roles throughout his career. Most recently Steve was the Chief Operations Officer at Gateway Mortgage Group where he played a major role in building the organization. Steve has also worked for Chase, Countrywide, CITI among other mortgage bankers and held many senior level management positions. Steve’s philosophy has always been to provide industry leading customer service to his customers while maintaining a high level of quality.
JOSH HEBERT, SVP | CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
As the Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Highlands Residential Mortgage, Josh Hebert brings more than fifteen years of mortgage banking experience and strong servant leadership skills to Highlands Residential Mortgage.
Josh has most recently served in a leadership role at First Choice Loan Services. He was also a former member of the leadership team at PrimeLending, serving as the Vice President, Director of Information Technology and then Senior Vice President of Information Technology. During the course of his career, Josh has been in the forefront of projects which shed light on the development of systems that improved the consumers experience and added to the technology portfolio of the company.
Josh is a dedicated mortgage professional specializing in the technological guidance of the company. He brings exceptional skills and abilities to oversee the mortgage process as customers embarked on making what is often one of the largest purchases of their lives.
Josh is a recipient of the CIO 100 award organized by CIO.com. In addition, he conducted a mortgage industry study in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard and The Kelley School of Business Capstone Team at Indiana University. This study analyzed the future state of the mortgage industry. He also studied at the American Management Associations, Developing Executive Leadership training program.
Josh resides in Frisco, Texas with his wife and two children.
BRENDA HARMON, SVP | DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Brenda Harmon, as Human Resources Director, supports staff and management across the entire company. She provides a wide range of HR functions including Staffing, Compensation, Benefits, Employee Relations and Organizational Restructure/Development. She works in close collaboration with the Sr. Management Team as well as Area and Branch Managers.
Brenda has over 20 years experience in the mortgage industry. Her professional background and forward-thinking approach to management enhances the services provided by Human Resources at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Brenda truly understands the value of our employees and goes above and beyond to ensure that each one is a big part of the Highlands family.
PATTY CAMPBELL, SVP | COMPLIANCE & QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER
Patty is responsible for management and oversight of the compliance, quality control and Fair Lending programs at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Patty has over 21 years of experience in the financial services and mortgage industries. She has been an active DE underwriter, and VA SAR, for 18 years and has an extensive background in mortgage operations including retail, wholesale and correspondent channels. She is currently working toward obtaining her Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager certification. Prior to joining Highlands in April of 2015, Patty was the Chief Compliance Officer and QC Manager with NTFN where she developed and implemented the Compliance Management System, and quality control functions. Patty will continue to build upon the current compliance and quality control systems in place at Highlands and ensure that they meet industry standards and regulatory requirements. She is also responsible for identifying compliance risks and providing training, advice, testing, and continual monitoring. Patty also represents the company in communication and interaction with all regulatory and state agencies.
CARRIE ADCOCK, VP | NATIONAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT
As Vice President of National Production Support at Highlands Residential Mortgage, Carrie Adcock is dedicated to putting the customer first, focusing on delivering the highest levels of performance and quality, with more than twenty years of banking and mortgage lending experience. It is her goal to ensure optimal efficiency in production and in regulatory oversight. During her three years at Highlands she has created On Boarding and training programs and has written department policies and procedures. Carrie resides in Dallas.
GINGER WILLIAMS, VP | NATIONAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Having started her career in Mortgage by chance, Ginger now embodies 15+ years of Mortgage Banking experience along with a profound passion for “world class customer service”. While working her way through the mortgage ranks, Ginger has spent time as a top producing Loan Processor, succeeded as a high performing Manager as well as an Award winning divisional Director. Her proven ability to manage and support production staff, consisting of both sales and operations roles, has significantly contributed to the growth and success experienced at Highlands. Having an expectation of excellence is something that transcends both her personal and professional lives. While Ginger is a consummate mortgage professional, she is also a proud wife and mother of 3 children. When she is not delivering results at Highlands, Ginger is likely to be spotted on the sidelines at a football game or in the stands at a cheerleading competition watching her kids excel at what they love and making memories as a family.
JENNIFER SWANK, SVP | LOAN ADMINISTRATION
Mrs. Swank joined Highlands in July of 2015 as the VP of Servicing. Jennifer is responsible for the management and oversight of all servicing functions, including Performing Servicing, Default Servicing, Investor Reporting, and Escrow Administration. As Highlands continues to grow its servicing portfolio organically through new loan production, Jennifer is dedicated to creating a strong governance system centered on compliance, risk management, and quality control.
Prior to joining Highlands, Jennifer was with PennyMac Loan Services where she held positions in Internal Audit and Compliance Management. Jennifer also has operational experience from her time at Bank of America where she served as the AVP of Government Claims. She was recognized by executive management for her leadership in recovering $3.9B in claims proceeds in 2012. Early in her career, Jennifer worked at Freddie Mac as part of the Multifamily Structured and Affordable Housing team.
Jennifer received her B.S. in Finance and Risk Management at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies! She also holds a M.B.A. from Strayer University (graduating Summa Cum Laude).
TERRA JOHNSON, SVP | CONTROLLER
As a valued member of the Highlands Mortgage team, Terra Johnson fills the role of Senior Vice President Controller. Having joined the company in April 2010, Terra manages and oversees the preparation of the company’s financial statements, payroll and accounts payable. With a B.S. in Accounting and Information Technology Management from the University of Texas, Dallas, she previously worked for Ranger Title Company. Her career spans fifteen years and encompasses both the real estate and the mortgage aspects of the home buying industry.
BECKY HALE, VP | MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
During her 19 years in the mortgage, Becky Hale has worked in a myriad of roles. She currently leads the Marketing and Communications department here at Highlands. Leveraging her experience in residential retail mortgage operations, training, closing, production support, and technology – Becky is able to focus on innovative solutions that support the company as a whole and our Loan Officers’ business. Telling the story of our company, and capturing the WHY behind our daily operations, is part of her passion. Everything we do is focused on growth.
BILL CLOPTON, SVP | OPERATIONS
Bill has 30+ years of mortgage banking operations experience. He began his career in processing and underwriting, and rapidly rose through the ranks to manage and lead operation teams for several major mortgage banking firms. At Bank of America, he managed underwriting and operations for almost 10 years. At First Horizon/MetLife, he again managed operations and underwriting for more than 12 years. Prior to joining Highlands, Bill managed all of operations for GenEquity. Bill has managed fulfillment activities for both the Retail and Correspondent channels nationally, however Retail is his passion.
KRISTIE ARMSTRONG | VP NATIONAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT
KRISTIE ARMSTRONG, VP NATIONAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Kristie began her mortgage career over 27 years ago. An avid proponent of servant leadership, she’s dedicated her career to supporting sales and providing first class service to her teams. An unquenchable thirst for breaking records and watching teams succeed drives her growth mindset.
Immediately prior to Highlands, Kristie served as the Production Manager for the top three Sales Leaders at Gateway Mortgage Group. In addition to this role, her career has included Onboarding, Branch Support, Underwriting, Closing and Post Closing.
Kristie received her B.S with honors in Business Management and Marketing at Lyon College in Arkansas. She and her husband, Jason, reside in East Dallas with their dog child, Trooper.
When working through a process, we often instinctively know that “this should be easier.”