Ainsworth Advisors, an advisory firm launched by mortgage industry stalwarts David Lykken and Gary Ort in 2017, offers strategic and tactical advice to mortgage lenders and warehouse lenders to help them improve efficiencies and develop strong leadership teams.
The firm’s founding principle is that world-class companies maintain their stature by their perpetual willingness to ask tough questions such as:
- What should we be thinking about?
- How do we embrace outside ideas and perspective?
- How do we ensure not falling behind critical change? and
- How do we challenge conventional wisdom?
Lykken is a 45-year mortgage industry veteran with hands-on ownership experience at three independent mortgage banking companies including as an owner operator, and as a mortgage technology entrepreneur who took a start-up software company public.
Ort is former president of Texas Capital Bank’s Mortgage Finance Division, with executive mortgage lending experience spanning more than two decades that includes managing operations and sales in retail, correspondent and warehousing areas.
Other mortgage professionals who recently joined the firm include Jay Brinkmann, retired chief economist and senior vice president of research and education at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Brinkman has devoted years in Washington D.C. engaged in the regulatory/legal/legislative side of a number of fights for the mortgage industry.
Also serving the firm is Marc Helm, who was recently president and CEO of Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. Helm is a 40 year-plus veteran of the financial services and mortgage banking industry, including as one of the largest Ginnie Mae securitizers, originators and servicers/subservicers in the reverse mortgage industry.
Mitch Kider is an educator and managing partner of Weiner Brodsky Kider PC. He has represented the mortgage banking industry for almost four decades and is known as a troubleshooter for lenders in the industry representing banks, mortgage companies, homebuilders, credit card issuers, and other financial service companies in a broad range of litigation and regulatory and compliance matters.
David Kittle, CMB, is former chairman of the MBA and current president of the Mortgage Collaborative. He brings more than 40 years of mortgage lending experience as owner of three independent lending companies and in executive business development roles with the most respected brands in the industry.
Joseph Murin was previously president of Ginnie Mae, co-founder of The Collingwood Group, and founder of JJAM Financial LLC and Home Buyer Connect LLC. He brings more than 40 years’ diverse experience in the financial services, mortgage, and banking industries, including as CEO of several large financial organizations.
Lastly, Les Parker, a 40-year veteran of real estate finance, has executive mortgage banking experience in capital markets, servicing, operations, production and financial management, and has in recent years advanced the RegTech vision with LoanLogics, a technology and services provider focused on improving mortgage loan quality, performance and reliability throughout the loan lifecycle.