Rick Calle has returned to loanDepot as chief strategy officer to oversee mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and revenue operations, the company announced on Monday. 

Calle previously worked at loanDepot from 2013 to 2022, leaving the same year that Anthony Hsieh stepped down as CEO. During that time, he served as a strategic adviser to Hsieh and the executive team, played a role in the company’s initial public offering (IPO) and took part in acquisitions such as Mortgage Master in 2014 and imortgage in 2017.

He also helped to launch a consumer lending program and led the company’s expansion into settlement services.

Calle rejoins loandepot as Hsieh reclaims the title of CEO. In his new role, Calle will integrate teams across technology, customer contact, marketing and sales while overseeing the tools and systems that drive the company’s consumer direct lending business. He will lead the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.  

“Consumer Direct Lending is a key strategic advantage for loanDepot — one of the few tech-powered, at-scale models of its kind with both best-in-class lead generation capabilities and top-tier customer recapture rates from our large servicing portfolio,” Hsieh said in a statement.

Hsieh said Calle will help the company get back to “competing at the highest levels.” 

Once the second-largest U.S. retail lender after growing at an average of 38% per year during its first decade, loanDepot has since contracted. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, loanDepot ranked as the 21th-largest U.S. mortgage lender with $10.9 billion in volume in the first half of this year.

“The opportunity ahead for loanDepot’s Consumer Direct Lending business is tremendous. The infrastructure, brand and data assets are primed for the coming wave of innovation,” Calle said in a statement. 

Prior to joining loanDepot in 2013, Calle was a senior associate at Parthenon Capital Partners and worked in M&A groups at Barclays and Lehman Brothers.

loanDepot also recently named Adam Saab as executive vice president of servicing; Alec Hanson as senior vice president of production for the West division; and Mary Bane as senior president of production for the Northeast/Central division.

Alongside Paul Ramos, who oversees the Southeast/Mid-Atlantic division, they report to Tom Fiddler, the company’s president of retail lending.

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