Mortgage verification services firm Xactus announced this week that it appointed Mike Brown, its former chief integration officer, as its new chief product officer.
This hiring underscores the company’s commitment to technology and product innovation. Brown will oversee Xactus’ product life cycle from ideation and development to launch and implementation. His hiring follows another key addition to the Xactus leadership suite. The firm also added Sasha Stair — a 2023 HousingWire Woman of Influence — as its chief marketing officer in October 2024.
Brown’s duties will also include monitoring emerging mortgage industry trends and aligning Xactus’ product strategy with the market.
Xactus President Shelley Leonard highlighted Brown as a key player in the company’s product strategy. The company has made several other forward-facing moves in 2024 to bolster its Xactus 360 platform. One example includes a collaboration with Thomas & Co. to enhance Xactus’ employment verification waterfall.
“As we continue our transformation into a fintech-forward organization, the role of Chief Product Officer is critical to shaping our product strategy and driving impactful innovation to proactively deliver easy-to-configure, automated solutions that streamline workflows, reduce waste and facilitate intelligent decisioning,” Leonard explained.
“Mike’s extensive expertise and proven leadership make him the ideal choice to lead this effort, ensuring we deliver the right products at the right time to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”
“I am thrilled to take on this role at a time of growth and innovation for Xactus,” Brown said. “Together with our talented team, I look forward to advancing the modern mortgage process and delivering innovative solutions that drive success for our clients.”
Brown has decades of experience in the financial services industry. Most of his work focused on verification solutions and related mortgage products. Before joining Xactus, Brown served as CEO of Universal CIS, a company that merged with Credit Plus before later rebranding to form Xactus. His early leadership experience includes roles as general manager with New Orleans-based NCO Financial Investigative Services, vice president of Credit Services Group and general manager of Creditel.
Brown is an active board member of the National Credit Reporting Association (NCRA). He also served as the group’s president, vice president and treasurer.
Xactus’ approach to the market over the next few years centers around boosting efficiency with workflows. In a recent LinkedIn article, Leonard highlighted experienced talent as a key metric for the company’s future success.
“It’s no secret that if you have a deep bench filled with experienced professionals, you can better guide and advise your clients,” Leonard wrote. “And that’s precisely what we’ve set out to do: assemble a seasoned team that can’t be matched in terms of its collective domain and industry expertise.”
She asserts that Xactus is helping lenders navigate market challenges and costs with experienced partners and product innovation. For Xactus, keeping prices intact requires timely data delivery, implementing a “no-close, no-pay” policy to protect lenders, and other key innovations.
