Angel Oak Mortgage Inc., after two straight quarters of losses, has new leadership. The company announced Wednesday Sreeni Prabhu has been named CEO and president, effective immediately. He replaces Robert Williams.
Angel Oak Mortgage reported in August a net loss of $52.1 million, or $2.13 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022. That followed a net loss of $43.5 million, or $1.77 per diluted share in the first quarter.
Prabhu currently serves as co-founder, managing partner and group chief investment officer of Angel Oak Capital Advisors, and he will continue in those roles. Mr. Williams will continue to serve in a senior advisory role for the company during a transition period which is not expected to extend beyond Q1 2023.
Angel Oak Mortgage is a publicly traded real estate finance company focused on acquiring and investing in first lien Non-QM loans and other mortgage-related assets in the U.S. mortgage market. It is not financially connected to Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions.
Michael Fierman, chairman of the company’s board of directors said, “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Sreeni Prabhu as our new CEO and president. I have worked side-by-side with Sreeni for more than 14 years, and believe his investment and operational experience, leadership, and strategic vision will help drive the company’s success in the years to come.
“After the successful completion of the company’s initial public offering in 2021 and its first full year as a public company, the board believes that now is the right time to make this leadership transition. We want to acknowledge Robert’s hard work and contributions to our growth and successful launch of the company as a publicly-traded REIT, and we wish him well in the future.”
Williams also served as managing director of Angel Oak Capital since January 2018. According to an archived bio on the Angel Oak website, prior to coming to Angel Oak, Williams was the chief financial officer and treasurer of New Residential Investment Corp. and a managing director of FIG LLC, the external manager of New Residential Investment Corp. and an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, from February 2013 until November 2013.
Prabhu stated, “I am excited to assume the role ... I have, along with the full team, helped advance Angel Oak Capital’s significant growth over the last 14 years into an entity that has pioneered a new mortgage market opportunity and delivered attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors. As a team, we have the experience and capabilities to succeed in any environment, and these attributes align directly with the company’s strategic goals.
“I look forward to my expanded role within the Company, and we are fully committed to growing the Company through execution of our consistent strategy of underwriting and managing credit risk, judiciously utilizing the securitization market, and prudent leverage. We look forward to reporting our achievements to our shareholders as we move ahead.”
Prabhu is co-founder, managing partner and group chief investment officer at Angel Oak Capital and is responsible for the overall investment strategy of the firm. He will retain these responsibilities in addition to his new role. Prior to co-founding Angel Oak Capital, he was chief investment officer of the investment portfolio at Washington Mutual Bank in Seattle where he managed a $25 billion portfolio. He was also part of the macro asset strategy team at the bank. Prabhu holds a B.B.A. degree in Economics from Georgia College and State University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Georgia State University.
