The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), a non-profit national trade membership association created exclusively for mortgage brokers, has announced the appointment of AIME member Tom Ahles as president of growth. Marc Summers and Brendan McKay will continue to serve as executive leaders of AIME, with McKay’s new title being president of advocacy, and Summers serving as president of membership. Katie Sweeney will remain as CEO.
Ahles is vice president and co-founder of a high-volume brokerage, Edge Home Finance, and has more than 20 years experience in financial services, including his time leading his brokerage. He managed to grow Edge Home Finance from $71 million in originations to $2.8 billion in under 10 years, and recently achieved a spot in the top 10 AIME Broker Rankings, which is based on production in several categories. The brokerage has hired 150 loan officers, totaling 400 today, and currently works with 42 lending partners. Ahles personally recruited more than 20 of the new hires from the retail mortgage industry.
"Tom is an excellent leader who strives to foster the advancement of independent mortgage brokers,” said Katie Sweeney, CEO of AIME. “His commitment to remain an expert, dependable, and ethical source for the mortgage needs of his local community and the broker channel is unparalleled. His strong leadership will help promote our membership’s continued development as well as accelerate market share growth.”
As consumers become more aware of independent mortgage brokers, the desire to support locally owned businesses to purchase or refinance a home is becoming more prevalent, according to the AIME press release.
As part of the association’s new model, the AIME presidents will embody the core message that “brokers are better” as part of their commitment to protecting, supporting, and growing the wholesale channel. Through education about expanded financing, superior service, innovative technology, brokers will be exposed to more opportunities to outperform the market competition.
“I am very excited to be joining the AIME leadership team as a president driving important growth initiatives for our channel,” Ahles said. “I have always had a passion for helping other people. It doesn't matter if you are a member of my team or with another brokerage. Together, we can advance and dominate the broker channel, ultimately benefiting our communities and consumers."
With over 40,000 members, AIME is committed to establishing a community of independent mortgage experts by creating an association that empowers them with unparalleled technology, continued education, and networking support necessary to successfully advise consumers nationwide with their residential mortgage needs. AIME operates with a growth-focused strategy, providing tools and resources to propel the wholesale channel beyond a 25% share of the mortgage market in 2022 and beyond.
