Open Mortgage, a multi-channel mortgage lender dedicated to empowering the dream of homeownership, has appointed Andrea Easter to the newly-created position of Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). As the head of the Compliance department, she will manage all risk-related functions within the company, including overseeing the development and implementation of policies and procedures regarding state and federal regulations and agency requirements. Easter will report directly to Open Mortgage President Joe Stephenson and will hold a fiduciary duty to the Board of Directors.

“As Open Mortgage continues to experience unprecedented growth, it’s vital that we diligently safeguard both the firm and our clients with a company-wide compliance approach centered around our brand values,” said Stephenson. “Andrea is a proven leader in the financial services industry and her extensive expertise will further enable an effective risk and control environment that can scale as the company grows.”

As CCO, Easter will work in collaboration with the other departments to monitor and assess compliance practices and ensure that issues are addressed, investigated, and resolved. Easter will also be responsible for the facilitation of an annual risk assessment as well as internal and third-party audits and investigations. Her duties will include keeping abreast of existing, new, and pending laws and regulations impacting the mortgage industry while maintaining relationships with industry leaders and federal and state regulators.

Most recently, Easter worked for Celebrity Home Loans, LLC, where she was promoted from Vice President of Compliance to Deputy Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to working at Celebrity Home Loans, she was a Senior Financial Examiner of Mortgage Origination at N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks. Easter has also held various mortgage compliance roles at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Daylight Discount Mortgage Corporation, and Headway Workforce Solutions for Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance.

Easter earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has achieved various training completions from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, and North Carolina Bankers Association.

Easter joins the Open Mortgage leadership team amidst elevated levels of company expansion and following the appointment of multiple executive and senior-level additions in 2022 and 2021. These include the new President Joe Stephenson, Chief Revenue Officer Scott Harkless, and the selection of several Senior Vice Presidents in the Marketing, Human Resources, and Forward Operations divisions.