Newrez hires former Rocket CIO Brian Woodring

In his new role at Newrez, Woodring will oversee the company’s technology initiatives, which include digital products, applications, IT infrastructure, information security, data management and artificial intelligence. 

With over 20 years of experience as an engineer and technology leader, he joined Rocket Mortgage in 2017 and was responsible for leading the product engineering team. Prior to that, he worked at Black Knight, Inc. News of his departure from Rocket came just a day after the launch of its AI-driven platform, Rocket Logic, and coincided with a leadership restructuring.

Newrez, a subsidiary of asset management company Rithm, praised Woodring’s strong track record, which includes developing industry-leading products for both servicing and loan origination. The company claims it is committed to AI innovation, enhancing the homeowner experience, and building effective teams to further develop its platform.

In addition to Woodring’s hiring, Newrez has made several other significant leadership changes. Felicia Grumet has been promoted to chief financial officer after serving as chief information officer since joining the company in 2024. She previously worked at Bear Stearns and Bank of America. 

In early May, Newrez also announced the hiring of Mark McArdle, formerly of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), who will lead the company’s regulatory and public policy efforts. 

Baron Silverstein, president of Newrez, stated that the new leadership will be “instrumental in driving the next stage of our platform’s continued growth.”In the first quarter of 2025, Newrez reported a funded loan volume of $11.8 billion, which represents a 9% increase year-over-year, although it is down from $17.3 billion in the previous quarter. The lender continues to rely heavily on the correspondent channel and has seen its gain-on-sale margin improve to 1.37% in Q1 2025.