Heritage Financial Group Inc., the holding company for HeritageBank of the South, has announced the addition of three veteran industry leaders to the company's management team for its mortgage division: Stephen M. Cannon, formerly vice president of business development for LoanSouth Mortgage in Atlanta, and J. Brent Harrell, previously director of wholesale and correspondent lending for Fidelity Bank Mortgage in Atlanta, have joined HeritageBank Mortgage in the newly created positions of division co-presidents. Additionally, Patrick Huefner, who also previously was with Fidelity Bank Mortgage as vice president, joins HeritageBank Mortgage as executive vice president-director of secondary market operations.
Together with Bernard M. Catall, group vice president of mortgage operations, Cannon, Harrell and Huefner will round out a seasoned management team for HeritageBank Mortgage and provide a foundation of experience for future expansion.
"We are very pleased to welcome Stephen, Brent and Patrick to our company and HeritageBank Mortgage," said Leonard Dorminey, president and CEO. "This marks another significant step in strengthening our management team and positioning our mortgage operations for accelerated growth. With the addition of this new talent and experience, we expect to expand HeritageBank Mortgage aggressively by adding retail mortgage originators and developing new capabilities, like wholesale and correspondent mortgage services."
According to Dorminey, another aspect of the company's plan to capitalize on growth opportunities for HeritageBank Mortgage will be the formation of an advisory board to provide input for management on market intelligence, new business development and strategic matters. The initial appointee to this board will be Robert S. "Bob" Cannon, a 25-year mortgage industry veteran in the Atlanta market. Cannon was an original co-founder of BancMortgage Financial Corp. in Atlanta in 1996 and served as its president at the time of his retirement in 2006.
Stephen Cannon brings more than 14 years of experience in the financial services industry to HeritageBank Mortgage and has worked in the mortgage industry since 2003. In 2009, he co-founded Meridian Mortgage Partners and was a partner in that company prior to joining LoanSouth. Cannon holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University.
Harrell has 10 years of experience in mortgage lending, including wholesale and correspondent lending with Madison Corporation before joining Fidelity Bank. He also served in positions involved with secondary marketing and underwriting, along with credit and compliance matters. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in business administration.
Huefner began his career in mortgage lending in 2001 with Sunshine Mortgage Corporation, later joining Fidelity Bank. His experience includes mortgage pricing, interest rate risk management, whole loan sales and securitizations, and new product development. Huefner received a bachelor's degree in business management from the SUNY Brockport University.
