Matt Hansen, founder and CEO of SimpleNexus, a mortgage origination platform for loan officers, borrowers, real estate agents and settlement agents, is stepping down from his CEO role to lead a newly formed skunkworks unit, the company reports.
Current president Cathleen Schreiner Gates will take over Hansen’s CEO role.
Hansen will remain heavily involved with the firm, where he will double down on customer focus leading a task force of software developers and sales staff that specializes in tackling high-priority projects.
“SimpleNexus started as a passion project – an app to help my brother-in-law expand his mortgage business – and it has since grown beyond anything I originally imagined,” Hansen says in a reelease. “Over the past seven years, I’ve had the great pleasure of building a better home buying experience for consumers and lenders with the help of hundreds of dedicated, passionate professionals.”
“Now, by placing the leadership of SimpleNexus into Cathleen’s highly capable hands, I have the opportunity to return to the work that brings me the most joy: focusing on the voice of the customer and rolling up my sleeves to lead projects that translate our users’ needs into reality.”
As CEO, Schreiner Gates will guide SimpleNexus to set the bar for what a homeownership platform should be as she leads operations and strategic decision-making.
Schreiner Gates began her engagement with the organization as a board member in April 2020 and was named president in September 2020. She is a decorated mortgage technology leader.
Previously, she served as EVP of sales and marketing at digital mortgage technology provider Ellie Mae (now ICE Mortgage Technology). During her tenure, Ellie Mae spent six consecutive years on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and negotiated a $3.7-billion purchase by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.