Open Mortgage, a multi-channel mortgage lender based in Austin, Texas, has hired Brenda Hedeen, CPA, as its new chief financial officer to spearhead the firm's finance and accounting operations.
Anthony Nolte, Open Mortgage's CFO and legal counsel since 2019, has been appointed to the newly created position of chief legal officer.
"With her impressive skillset in financial planning and analysis, as well as her affinity for passionate and fearless leadership, Brenda's addition to Open Mortgage will ensure the acceleration of our current momentum of success," said Scott Gordon, Founder and CEO of Open Mortgage. "Tony's diligent service has led the company through a season of rapid growth and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we move into the next phase of expansion, his more than 30 years of leadership experience in legal, compliance and finance will continue to be invaluable to our legal infrastructure."
As a member of the chief executive team, Hedeen will report directly to Open Mortgage President Joe Stephenson and will leverage her extensive background in analysis and fiscal planning to create a company-wide analytical infrastructure and implement comprehensive financial management standards, the company said.
"After much deliberation and following an extensive search to fill the CFO position, Brenda stood out for her impeccable record of notable business impact and ability to empower high performance and professional development among her team," Stephenson said. "Her results-driven approach and collaborative leadership style will allow Open Mortgage to further optimize a data-based financial framework that advances the company's business strategy."
Most recently, Hedeen served as CFO for On Q Financial Inc. Before that, she was promoted to CFO of Mann Mortgage LLC from her previous positions as assistant CFO and controller. Additionally, she has held roles in private and public accounting, where her career growth was powered by a keen eye for optimization. Hedeen is a certified public accountant; she earned her master's in accounting from Stetson University and a bachelor's in accounting at Baker College, online.
The appointments of Hedeen to CFO and Nolte to CLO come during increased company expansion and following multiple additions to the Open Mortgage executive and senior leadership team in the past two years, the company said. These include President Joe Stephenson, Chief Compliance Officer Andrea Easter, Chief Revenue Officer Scott Harkless and several senior vice presidents in the Marketing, Human Resources and Forward Operations divisions.
Founded in 2003, Open Mortgage is headquartered in Austin and has retail locations nationwide.
