Shore Financial Services in Birmingham Continues to Strengthen Leadership

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Birmingham, Michigan, September 30, 2011 — Shore Financial Services, Inc., a leading independent mortgage lender, and parent company of United Wholesale Mortgage, one of the top wholesale lenders in the United States, has hired three additional leaders as it continues to grow.  The announcement was made today by Shore Financial CEO, Kip Kirkpatrick.

These new additions add to the company’s recent series of major hires, as Kirkpatrick, a successful investor in highly regulated industries, continues to enhance Shore
Financial’s resources and national presence.

“Our vision for Shore Financial focuses on growth and market leadership,” said Kirkpatrick. “We are rapidly assembling the best management team in the industry—a team that has the expertise we need to take this organization to the next level. These three new leaders will provide significant competitive advantage as we enter our next phase of growth.”

The new hires include:

Bob Fuller as head of Underwriting. Fuller, an expert on conventional mortgage and Fannie Mae underwriting guidelines, has an extensive background in mortgage wholesale lending and managing multiple departments within a large, multi-million dollar mortgage lending environment. His career of nearly 20 years includes management roles at Bank of Ann Arbor, MGIC and Flagstar Bank. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University.

“Bob Fuller’s deep expertise and the breadth of his background offer major benefits for both our retail and wholesale businesses and support our strategy of long-term growth,” said Kirkpatrick.

Greg Pappas will lead the Secondary Marketing group at Shore Financial.  Pappas has over 20 years of experience in the mortgage capital markets and the wholesale mortgage industry, most recently serving as SVP, Secondary Marketing at First Guaranty Mortgage. He holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

“Greg Pappas has the experience we need to manage a number of key functions, including the management of pipeline risk, our rate lock desk, product pricing and development and investor relations,” said Kirkpatrick.

Mike Castleforte as general counsel and head of business development. Castleforte joins Shore Financial from the corporate department at leading law firm Winston & Strawn LLP, where he represented public and private companies in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and public offerings. A two-time Academic All-American, Castleforte received a B.A. in economics from Duke University, where he served as captain of the Men’s Golf Team and as president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He also holds a J.D. from Columbia University.

“The hiring of Mike Castleforte reflects a level of talent acquisition that is unusual in the mortgage industry,” said Kirkpatrick. “To join us, Mike is stepping off a partner track at one of the world’s best law firms. He brings a keen legal mind and fresh perspective that will be invaluable to Shore Financial as we continue to develop our national profile.”

Since Kirkpatrick was named CEO in April, the company has also hired expert financial analyst Mike Jones, as Chief Financial Officer; nationally recognized mortgage banker David Hall, as president of Shore Mortgage, the company’s retail mortgage division; and regulatory compliance expert Susan Pelto, as Chief Compliance Officer.


About Shore Financial Services, Inc.
Headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan, Shore Financial Services, Inc. provides mortgage services to brokers through its wholesale arm, United Wholesale Mortgage, a top 10 FHA lender, and to consumers through its growing retail arm, Shore Mortgage. Privately held, Shore Financial has operations in 47 states and the District of Columbia. More information about Shore Financial’s operating groups is available at www.shoremortgage.com and www.uwmco.com.