It's been said that we become the things we do — and that simple, yet powerful, realization was at the core of HousingWire's decision to announce the 2014 Rising Stars program earlier this year.
HousingWire’s Rising Stars program recognizes young industry professionals under the age of 40 who have become leaders in their respective fields. Those who are helping move markets forward, each and every day.
They help run major corporations, and are the entrepreneurs building tomorrow’s great businesses. They work in any and every area of the housing economy: lending, servicing, investing and real estate. They come from diverse backgrounds but share one common trait: an outsized impact on the industry and their businesses.
In an industry that is often stereotyped as "older," the reality is that there are many younger professionals working within the industry — bringing their unique ideas, energy and skills to bear to improve the single most important aspect of the U.S. economic engine.
At HousingWire, we believe it's important to celebrate the accomplishments of this unique group of professionals, because what they do today defines what our industry does tomorrow. In fact, our mortgage and housing industry — indeed, any industry — depends on it.
With that in mind, this year's luminaries are:
- Erik Anderson, Vice President, Sales, GuardianDocs
- Christina Bartning, Vice President, Marketing and Product Development, National MI
- Max Boehmer, Founding Partner, Vertica Partners
- Michael Chan, Vice President, ComplianceEase
- Brent Conley, President & Owner, Solutions Real Estate
- Edward Fay, CEO, Fay Servicing LLC
- Laura Ferris, Vice President, Green River Capital
- AJ George, Vice President of Correspondent Operations, CMG Financial
- Scott Hermann, Vice President, Business Development & Sales, CoreLogic Credco
- Marsha Kotlyar, Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
- Ryan LaRose, President & CEO, Celink
- Eugene Marinelli, CTO, Blend Labs
- Noah Martin, Chief Business Development Officer, Matt Martin Real Estate Management
- Marcus McCue, Executive Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer, Guardian Mortgage Company
- Jonas Moe, Vice President, Product Strategy, Ellie Mae
- Andrew Peters, CEO, First Guaranty Mortgage Corp.
- Jake Seid, President, Auction.com
- Neil Sherman, Managing Partner & President, Schneiderman & Sherman, P.C./Best Homes Title Agency LLC
- Michael Tedesco, Founder & CEO, Appraisal Nation
- Alex Villacorta, Vice President, Research & Analytics, Clear Capital
The cover of this month's magazine recognizes our RIsing Stars program as well, featuring Laura Ferris at Green River Capital — the first time in our magazine's history we've decided to feature an individual who isn't largely "famous" within the broader context of the financial markets. (At least, not yet!) We went with an individual instead of a group, too, because we wanted to capture something unique: the idea that a single person can fuel the sort of change that powers an industry ahead.
You can read about each of this year's honorees here. I hope you'll join me in congratulating this year's Rising Stars!
