NMI Holdings, parent company of National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, promoted Chief Operating Officer Claudia Merkle to president.
In her new role, Merkle will oversee sales, marketing, underwriting, servicing and information technology.
“Claudia has been with National MI from the beginning. She developed and led our operations team in the early stages,” NMI Holdings Chairman and CEO Bradley Shuster said in his company’s announcement of Merkle’s promotion.
“Claudia was also instrumental in building our sales organization, which has become a model for the industry. Our continued success after her promotion to COO in 2016 is just as I expected. Her promotion to president is well-deserved and I look forward to our continued work together for the success of our employees, customers and shareholders,” Shuster added.
Merkle has been with NMI since 2012 when she joined as senior vice president of underwriting fulfillment. After only a year in that role, Merkle was promoted to executive vice president of insurance operations, and three years after that was appointed COO in 2016.
As COO, Merkle was named a HousingWire Magazine Vanguard Award winner in 2017. The Vanguard Awards are reserved for the true leaders in the housing economy. HousingWire Magazine also honored Merkle as a Women of Influence winner in 2016.
Prior to joining NMI, Merkle held leadership positions at PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, Meridian Mortgage and Wachovia, among other companies.
“I am very honored to be named president of National MI. I appreciate the trust that Brad and the rest of the board of directors have placed in me,” Merkle said in a statement.
“I’m pleased to play a leading role in National MI’s continued growth and success,” she added.
Additionally, NMI announced it has appointed two other executives to new roles. Patrick Mathis has been promoted to executive vice president of operations and information technology, and Robert Smith has been promoted to executive vice president and chief risk officer. Smith and Mathis have also been with NMI since 2012.
