Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation, has announced the promotion of Geoffrey Cooper to the role of vice president of product development, Peter Semenak to vice president of underwriting, and Bryan Specht to vice president of policy acquisition and servicing. The company has also hired Bill Walker as vice president, chief information security officer.
Cooper has more than 25 years of experience in banking and mortgage finance. Prior to this promotion, he had been MGIC's Director of Customer Solutions. Cooper came to MGIC from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) where he was the Director of Single Family Housing. Cooper also served as the Public Information Officer and Policy Analyst for the State Office of the Commissioner of Bankingand worked as a financial reporter for the Milwaukee Business Journal. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Semenak brings more than 30 years of underwriting and production management experience to his new position at MGIC. He has been with MGIC since 1997 and has advanced through the underwriting and production side of the organization, most recently serving as the company's National Underwriting Production Manager. Prior to joining MGIC, Semenak worked as an underwriter for Weyerhaeuser Mortgage Company and North American Mortgage. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from St. Norbert College.
Specht's mortgage banking career spans 23 years with an emphasis in operations. Prior to this promotion, he had been MGIC's Product Development Director. Before joining MGIC, Specht served as Executive Vice President Chief Operation Officer for Stonegate Mortgage, and held various senior level leadership positions at Citibank, GMAC Mortgage, Citi Mortgage and EQUIX Financial Services. Mr. Specht holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comprehensive Accounting from Western State College.
"With their unique backgrounds, Geoff, Pete and Bryan each bring a wealth of knowledge to their new roles," explains Sal Misoi, Senior Vice President – Business Strategy and Operations. "They have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to providing our customers with best in class products and services. I congratulate them on their promotions and look forward to working with them as we continue MGIC's tradition of helping to make affordable low down payment mortgages a reality."
In addition to the promotions, MGIC has also hired William Walker as its new Vice President – Chief Information Security Officer. Mr. Walker comes to MGIC from U.S. Bancorp where he was the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Senior Director, Enterprise Information Security. He has also served as a senior leader in information security for Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp, the University of Colorado, and Brunswick Corporation. Mr. Walker earned his Master of Science degree in Computer Science at James Madison Universityand his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from State University of New York.
"Having come from a large banking institution, Bill brings an important perspective to MGIC's information security team," said Greg Chi, Senior Vice President Information Services–Chief Information Officer. "This combined with his extensive experience in leading information security efforts made him the perfect fit for our company as we explore ways for our information security to support future growth."
