NEXA Lending has named former Radiant Mortgage executive Susie Cheatham, national sales director, adding another experienced independent mortgage banking leader to its expanding national recruiting operation.
Cheatham joins the Phoenix-based brokerage after serving as senior vice president and division manager at Radiant Mortgage for almost two years. She previously spent approximately seven years at Bay Equity, where she held regional and area sales leadership positions.
In her new role, Cheatham will work alongside national sales directors Todd Bitter and John Flores, focusing on recruiting, business development, and loan officer coaching, NEXA announced Tuesday.
The appointment also reunites Cheatham with NEXA CEO Geri Farr, with whom she previously worked at Bay Equity.
"Having worked with Geri before, I know the kind of leader she is and the environment she creates for the people around her," Cheatham said. "There is an incredible level of trust that comes from knowing someone has your back, believes in your abilities and gives you the freedom to build."
From Retail Leadership To Broker Recruiting
Cheatham began her mortgage career as a loan originator before moving into sales management and regional leadership.
At Bay Equity, she advanced from managing a Kansas City branch to overseeing a regional organization that ranked among the company's top three in loan units and volume, according to NEXA.
Her responsibilities included expanding into the Dallas market, developing production teams across multiple markets, and supporting a significant real estate agent network.
Now, she brings that experience to the independent broker channel, where NEXA has been recruiting established originators and production teams.
A central part of her new role will be developing individualized coaching programs that help loan officers identify their strengths, refine business processes, and build more consistent production strategies.
"Number one is motivation. If they have the will to do it, we want to work with them," Cheatham said. "We want to understand their motivation, their patterns, and how they approach their business. Then we can build systems and processes around who they are and how they naturally operate."
NEXA's Recruiting Momentum
Cheatham joins a brokerage that has already recorded substantial gains in loan officer headcount.
As NMP reported in September, Model Match data showed NEXA had added a net 513 mortgage loan originators over the preceding 12 months, representing an estimated $690 million in production associated with those movements.
Of those gains, 189 originators and an estimated $379 million in associated production were added during the most recent 90-day period.
The brokerage has also been expanding through acquisitions and team recruitment.
In August, NEXA announced its acquisition of UMortgage. The following month, it recruited the Bookspan Baker Team from Guild Mortgage, a group on pace to originate approximately $100 million in 2026, and launched the Keepsake Loans brand on its platform.
Cheatham's arrival adds another national sales leader to support that expansion, particularly as NEXA seeks to attract experienced mortgage professionals from traditional retail lending organizations.
NEXA founder Mike Kortas, who moved into an executive partner role when Farr became CEO, said the company is focused on developing stronger producers rather than simply increasing its headcount.
"We're not interested in simply growing for the sake of growing. We're building an organization where the best mortgage professionals in the country have the opportunity to achieve more than they ever thought possible," Kortas said.
