The management shakeup at PHH Corp. continued Monday when the company announced that it hired Albert Celini as senior vice president, risk and compliance.
But Celini will only serve in the role for a little over a month.
On Jan. 1, 2018, Celini will assume the role of chief risk and compliance officer, replacing Leith Kaplan, who will step down on Dec. 31, 2017.
Kaplan’s departure comes as part of a management restructuring effort launched by PHH earlier this year.
Chief among those moves was replacing Glen Messina as president and CEO with Robert Crowl, who had served as the company’s chief financial officer since 2012.
At the time, the company announced several other moves, including the departure of Kaplan, along with William Brown, the company’s senior vice president and general counsel.
Last month, PHH announced Brown’s replacement, Madeline Flanagan, who will succeed Brown as senior vice president and general counsel of PHH, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
And now, the company has found its replacement for Kaplan in Celini.
Most recently, Celini was a risk management consultant with Newbold Advisors, and Common Securitization Solutions, the joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that it is developing the single security.
Celini previously served as executive vice president and chief risk officer of Sun National Bank, where he was responsible for the development, execution and oversight of the bank’s enterprise risk management framework.
Earlier in his career, Celini served as vice president, single-family regulatory affairs and strategy at Freddie Mac. Celini also spent nearly 10 years at Ally Bank (formerly GMAC Bank) serving as the bank’s founding chief financial officer, chief risk officer and director of lending development.
Before joining Ally Bank, Celini spent 12 years at Citigroup as a financial controller.
“As we execute against our key priorities and transition our business, we remain focused on compliance and enterprise risk management as fundamental components of our business strategy,” Crowl said in a statement. “Al’s proven track record and extensive experience in this field, combined with his background working in the mortgage and financial industries, make him a strong fit for the role and PHH. We are pleased to have him on board and look forward to his leadership and insight as part of our management team.”
Of Kaplan, Crowl thanked him for time with the company.
“During his tenure as chief risk and compliance officer, and prior to that as chief ethics and compliance officer, Lee was critical in our ability to navigate an evolving and complex regulatory climate through the development and implementation of a robust risk and compliance structure built to safety and soundness standards, as well as enhancing a number of our core internal processes,” Crowl said.
“In addition, he and his team have been instrumental in building a strong culture in which all employees understand the importance of managing risk and always operating in a compliant and responsible manner,” Crowl concluded. “I would like to thank Lee for his significant contributions to PHH for the past 12 years and wish him all the best in the future.”
