Just months after loanDepot co-founder Alex Madonna was named to a new role to focus on emerging technology, artificial intelligence and modern sales structures, it was announced that he’s departing the company.
Madonna, who was most recently loanDepot’s executive vice president of direct lending and spent 16 years at the company, confirmed the news in a LinkedIn post on Friday afternoon.
“After 16 remarkable years under Anthony Hsieh‘s mentorship and leadership, as many of you know, we mutually agreed it was time for me to move on from the organization,” Madonna wrote.
In the same post, Madonna announced that he recently founded Trust One Financial, which will be open for business in early April.
“We will be partnering with Jason Stuecher and Ease Mortgage, while backed by the power of UWM. We will leverage the best tools and fulfilment available in the industry to delight our customers and create a platform of success and growth for our originators,” he wrote.
In an interview with HousingWire, Madonna described his late December departure from the company as a “mutual” and “amicable” decision that aligned with Hsieh reassembling “a fresh leadership team.” Madonna also confirmed that Trust One will be a broker shop and a dba of Ease Mortgage.
“I was watching from the sidelines some of these very large emerging platforms in the broker space … there’s a deep interest on my part to go attack that market, and really think I can do a lot there,” he said. “My roots are in the broker space.”
So far, Madonna said it’s just himself as an employee, but he’ll be recruiting for his Irvine, California-based shop. “I plan on taking this to a pretty large scale over the next 12 to 24 months,” he said.
Hsieah, loanDepot’s CEO initially announced Madonna’s departure on LinkedIn back in December, but few details were mentioned about Madonna’s career shift.
“As a founding member of loanDepot, Alex exemplifies honor, ethics, and commitment. He has consistently been the first one in the mornings, making decisions that benefited both the team and the company,” Hsieh wrote.
Hsieh also expressed that he was supportive of Madonna’s “new chapter” in his professional journey and touted his “intensity, focus and drive” as one of the reasons that loanDepot experienced 38% growth each year for its first 11 years.
loanDepot declined to comment further when reached by HousingWire.
