Equator, a national provider in default servicing technology, has hired five industry-experienced senior leaders to its team. The new hires are:

• Russell Walker, vice president of information security and compliance
• John Ardy, vice president of technology   
• Jeff Huffman, director of technology  
• Stephen Kirkham, director of IT development 
• Lance Hamilton, relationship manager 

Each new leader has the demonstrated skills and experience to further enhance Equator’s position in default servicing technology. The new team will focus on bolstering capacity and helping clients meet the demands of the market.

As vice president of information security and compliance, Walker will be responsible for setting policies and protecting data stored on the Equator system. Walker recently served as senior director of information security and compliance for FSRDG, where he managed information security, risk management and compliance programs for entertainment, financial services and healthcare clients. His previous roles include vice president of enterprise security, compliance and risk management for both Starbucks Coffee Co. and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

As leaders in technology, Ardy and Huffman will be responsible for streamlining and improving Equator’s client experience process during the software development lifecycle. A 20-year financial services industry veteran, Ardy last served as chief delivery officer at Fidelity National Commerce Velocity, a provider of default management, origination and secondary marketing software. His other roles include managing director and chief operating officer of application technology for Countrywide Financial Corp. and chief operating officer, North America for Firstsource Solutions, a business process outsourcing company. Huffman, who has 15 years of project management experience with Fortune 500 companies, last served as vice president — portfolio/program management for Bank of America, where he created teams to manage REO, short sale and deed-in-lieu technology projects. 

As director of IT development, Kirkham will be responsible for the design, delivery and management of Equator solutions. Kirkham has an extensive background in software design and development, consulting and enterprise architecture. Most recently he served as engineering manager for Disney Interactive Media Group, where he oversaw Disney's online portals, family properties and multiplayer games. His other roles include director of architecture and engineering for Intuit Financial Services and manager of service oriented architecture and web services program for Sun Micro Systems.

As relationship manager, Hamilton will be responsible for identifying the needs and requirements of Equator clients and working with internal staff on the development of custom solutions. An experienced consultant with extensive short sale, REO and home retention experience, Hamilton last served as a senior project manager for Fannie Mae, where he integrated the GSE's Servicing Management Default Underwriter system with many of the largest U.S. banks. Prior to Fannie Mae, Hamilton was an assistant vice president with Bank of America, where he worked with Equator's original short sale platform.

“The current housing market is creating opportunities to further streamline and automate a servicing process that’s become increasingly more complex over the past several years,” said Chris Saitta, chief executive officer of Equator. “The investments we are making in experienced leadership will further empower us to anticipate the needs of our clients with intelligent products and services.”

“All of our new team members were selected for their vast talent and capabilities to support our goal of staying on the leading edge and enabling our clients’ success," said John Vella, chief operating officer of Equator. "We look forward to their contributions in helping us better serve the marketplace.”