Francesco Paola is the Chief Growth Officer of MOZAIQ. With 25+ years of global leadership experience, he has pioneered enterprise adoption of successive technology waves — ecommerce, BPO and IT outsourcing, cloud computing, and AI. He pairs deep mortgage expertise with a record of scaling new technologies across industries. He holds an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Along with her signature passion for people, Sue Woodard brings over thirty-five years of financial services and fintech experience to her roles as an independent consultant, Strategic Advisor with both STRATMOR Group and Housing Wire, and industry “Evangelist At Large!”
Sue started her career at the ground level in banking, became a top producing loan originator, then leveraged her knowledge to become a highly acclaimed industry speaker, subject matter expert and fintech executive.
Matthew VanFossen is the CEO of the Absolute Home Mortgage Corporation, a mid-size Independent Mortgage Banker located in Fairfield, NJ, and Mortgage Automation Technologies, a financial technology provider specializing in consumer mortgage technology. Matthew has been a driving force in the mortgage industry and is a respected figure in the community. Additionally, he serves as the president of the New Jersey Mortgage Bankers Association.
Matthew commands an extensive knowledge of the broader housing industry, with over a decade of experience in residential mortgage lending and overseeing over $10 billion in retail originations as CEO of Absolute Home Mortgage. Throughout his career, he has taken on an executive role at several successful mortgage companies and has worked as a consultant for various fintech start-ups and mortgage lenders nationwide.
VanFossen’s passion for innovation and the industry is evidenced by his numerous industry achievements. He has been named a “Top Mortgage Professional Under 40” by National Mortgage News and has been featured in various publications, including Forbes, Scotsman Guide, and HousingWire. In 2023, he was awarded the ICE Mortgage Technology Innovators Award for Best Use of Next-Generation Mortgage Technology by Encompass.
Under VanFossen’s leadership, Both Absolute Home Mortgage & Mortgage Automation Technologies has become a major player in the financial technology space, offering the web-based BIG Point of Sale to some of the largest companies in the mortgage industry. He coined the “Farm to Table” Loan Officer to Programmer rapid design and testing methodology. VanFossen’s technology enables efficient and speedy consumer mortgage transactions, eliminating consumer communication complaints and reducing costs for lenders.
Matthew is also the youngest individual to ever serve as the President of the Mortgage Bankers of NJ and the only 4-year term president. Currently Matthew Co-Chairs the Mortgage Bankers of America State and Local Regulatory Committee and is a past board member of Community Home Lenders of America.
Mike Hogan is the Senior Managing Director and Chief Information Officer at Pennymac, and is responsible for the overall vision and leadership for technology initiatives across the company. Hogan has demonstrated consistent success in delivering database and application software solutions within the financial services industry.
In his current role at Pennymac, Hogan is leading a number of AI initiatives. He headed the rollout of Google Gemini at the enterprise level, as well as the launch of several AI productivity tools. He is also leading GenAI workstreams to foster innovation within the company, while carefully monitoring safety and compliance of GenAI tools before implementation. Hogan serves as vice chairman on the MISMO board, which represents a wide range of expertise in residential and commercial real estate finance, where members collaborate on critical issues within the mortgage industry.
Previously, Hogan was the Managing Director of Capital Markets Technology at Pennymac. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee at Pennymac and has served on the company’s management team since 2020.
Prior to joining Pennymac, Hogan led technology teams at Bank of America and Countrywide Financial in the Secondary Marketing, Data Management, Corporate Accounting and Mortgage Servicing areas. He has spearheaded the development of custom-built software solutions to support all facets of the mortgage business, and during his time as a Senior Consultant for Microsoft he helped clients develop and implement new applications.
Hogan earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rice University.
Jeff Kvalevog brings nearly 25 years of experience and knowledge of the mortgage industry to his position as Chief Strategy Officer at New American Funding.
In this role, Jeff leads multiple departments including Product Management, Engineering, Enterprise Portfolio Strategy, Strategic Partnerships and Customer Success.
Beyond this, Jeff evaluates and establishes strategic opportunities that provide additional revenue and relationships for the company, including partnership agreements, potential expansion into new business channels, and much more. Additionally, he focuses on building on New American Funding’s reputation in the mortgage industry and enabling increased opportunities for the company.
Throughout his career, Jeff has been a driver of process innovation with a solutions-focused mindset, specializing in digital transformation and digital product experience. His passion for leadership and helping develop his team members is enhanced by his background in sales, operations, underwriting, and digital product development.
Jeff believes in New American Funding’s mission to become an invaluable partner to homebuyers on their mortgage journey, by delivering world-class technology, products, and services.
Jamie Cavanaugh is the CEO of reAlpha Mortgage, where she leads a team focused on reshaping the mortgage experience through thoughtful tech, strong operational systems, and a culture that puts people first. With more than 25 years in the industry from originations and operations to executive leadership, Jamie brings a practical, well-rounded view to solving the challenges lenders face today.
Before stepping into the CEO role, she served as Chief Integration and Growth Officer at reAlpha, helping to build scalable systems and guide strategic growth. Previously, as President and Partner of Amerifund Home Loans, she led the company through significant national growth, building the operational foundation and leadership infrastructure to support expansion across multiple markets.
Jamie’s approach blends operational clarity, marketing that connects, and tech that actually works. She’s passionate about leadership development, sustainable growth, and simplifying the path to homeownership: especially for those historically underserved.
She is a licensed mortgage originator, executive coach, inaugural Hall of AIME inductee, two-time Women With Vision Award winner, former Chair of the Women’s Mortgage Network, and a 2023 MPA Mortgage Global 100 honoree. Whether advising new leaders, building infrastructure, or exploring new ways to scale with integrity, Jamie is committed to doing work that matters and helping others do the same.
Jack Cavanagh is the Senior Vice President of Onity Group Inc. (NYSE: ONIT), where he leads Financial Planning & Analysis and Data Science. Since joining the company Jack has helped to transform Onity into a data-first, AI-powered mortgage leader by integrating machine learning, natural language processing, and robotic process automation to drive financial forecasting, streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve borrower experiences.
With a career spanning over 20 years in financial services and analytics, Jack has held senior roles at major financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Hudson Advisors/Lone Star Funds, and Caliber Home Loans. At each stop, he has been known for bridging the gap between business strategy, finance, and advanced analytics. Through this experience he has developed into a cross-functional innovator, fluent in the languages of data science, finance, and mortgage banking.
Jack is also a recognized thought leader in the mortgage industry. He frequently speaks at industry events and contributes to discussions on the future of analytics and AI and its impact on lending, automation, and the customer experience.
Jack earned his MBA from Georgia Tech and his undergraduate degree from Providence College. He lives with his wife Mabel and their three children in the Dallas metro area.
John has been in the mortgage lending industry since 2004 and has held leadership responsibilities in the New Jersey, Florida and California markets. He came to Certainty Home Lending after 15 years with one of the world’s largest global banks, where he most recently held the role of Market Leader for their Wealth Management division. In that role, John oversaw 20 wealth management loan officers supporting the bank’s financial advisors and private bank client associates in the greater Los Angeles and Southern California region, leading the Los Angeles market to become number one in both 2021 and 2022.
John came to Southern California in July of 2015 as the Area Lending Manager for Santa Monica/Ocean Cities market. There, he grew his team of loan officers, which quickly earned the #1 production ranking with over $2 billion in volume in 2019.
Previously, John served in the South Florida market as an Area Lending Manager. During his time in Florida, he was regularly asked to speak at real estate industry events produced by organizations such as the Miami and Fort Lauderdale Associations of REALTORS. In 2014, he was named President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) of South Florida, where he worked to empower that community to better realize the dream of home ownership. He later served on the National Board of NAHREP as a Chapter Trainer.
John began his career as a mortgage loan officer, assisting in the recovery from the foreclosure crisis by serving multicultural, low and moderate income borrowers and becoming the bank’s leading producer in volume for those markets.
John received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University. Today, he lives in Marina Del Rey with his wife and dog.