Management Team
Brian K. Fitzpatrick
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO of Aklero Risk Analytics, Brian Fitzpatrick oversees all operations including Technology Development, Financial and Accounting, Strategic Marketing Objectives and Growth Strategy. Aklero’s Fitzpatrick has a strong background in executive level positions within the mortgage technology industry and is a recognized authority in the field of mortgage technology and consumer finance related business process outsourcing solutions. Thanks to Mr. Fitzpatrick’s contributions, Aklero Risk Analytics has raised industry-wide awareness of how technology plays a key role in the production, measurement and improvement of loan quality. He has also increased the visibility of Aklero’s Q-Close™ technology platform that includes proprietary document processing, data extraction, data filtering methodologies and business intelligence.
Mr. Fitzpatrick steered the acquisition of Hall Underwriting & Consulting that added a strong full service Quality Control Audit, Due Diligence and Forensic Underwriting and Collateral Analysis capability to the Aklero team.
Mr. Fitzpatrick was a recipient of Mortgage Banking magazine’s prestigious IT All-Star designation for his career contributions in the field of mortgage technology; has been a speaker for many industry panels and conferences; and has authored numerous articles and white papers in a variety of mortgage and related financial services trade publications.
Prior to taking the helm at Aklero, Mr. Fitzpatrick served as President of Lydian Technology Group, the nation’s leading provider of business infrastructure and integration technology for the mortgage industry. His previous roles include President of WellFound Decade Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of Decade Systems Corporation, and Senior Vice President of Sales for GHR Systems.
Clayton Greenfield
President and Chief Operating Officer
In addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer of Hall Underwriting and Consulting (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc.) Mr. Greenfield is responsible for all operating aspects of Aklero including scanning and digital document management, document indexing, data extraction, forensic underwriting and mortgage risk analysis and consulting. Additionally, he has overall management responsibility of client services, risk analytics, professional services and client implementations.
Prior to joining Hall Underwriting and Consulting, Mr. Greenfield built the closed loan conduit and oversaw the processing and delivery of over 100 billion dollars of loans to investment and top tier banks during his tenure with Lydian Data Services.
Mr. Greenfield has 20 years of experience in the mortgage and financial service industry and has held positions in sales, secondary marketing, underwriting and operations, including senior positions with Delta Funding and Fidelity Mortgage. Mr. Greenfield is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Oswego, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Richard J. Downing
Executive Vice President, Sales
As Executive Vice President of Sales, Mr. Downing is responsible for the continued growth of revenue for all technology and service offerings at Aklero. In this capacity Mr. Downing oversees the development of strategic business alliances and the management of Aklero’s national sales organization. In the mortgage industry, customers expect their service providers to prove themselves every day and Mr. Downing has done that for 30 years. Throughout his career he has delivered technology-based consumer loan information solutions to mortgage lenders.
Most recently as Senior Vice President of National Sales for Kroll Factual Data and before that as president of The Credit Network, he has demonstrated his skill at creating innovative strategies for successful business and sales development. In addition, he has experience managing strategic direction, sales planning, sales team development, and market opportunity analysis.
Mr. Downing brings to Aklero a successful track record of developing new product and technology-based sales strategies. He has extensive experience building strategic account plans, customer retention programs, and generating business opportunities through technology partnerships and platform integrations.
Mr. Downing is active in several industry trade groups and has served on the board of directors for the Credit Data Information Association. The Mortgage Advisory Council has recognized him for his work on the Mortgage Credit Reporting Standards Task Force. He has been a member of the Mortgage Bankers of America Association and the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association.
Joe Klimowicz
Chief Technology Officer
As chief technology officer Mr. Klimowicz is responsible for driving the development of the company’s technology solutions and delivering best-in-class services to customers. Mr. Klimowicz has extensive experience envisioning and developing innovative technology solutions for a variety of industries, including mortgage banking, healthcare logistics and the legal market. He brings a strong background in all aspects of the software development life cycle, including requirements analysis, technical specifications, architecture and development.
Most recently, Mr. Klimowicz served as vice president of technology for SkillSurvey, Inc., where he was responsible for product management, development and infrastructure. His previous experience includes serving as chief technology officer and co-founder of Verilaw, where he was responsible for managing the teams that designed and developed the company’s flagship electronic filing system.
Mr. Klimowicz earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with cum laude honors from Drexel University and received his Master’s degree in Computer Science from Villanova University.
Joseph A. Helfrich, Esq.
Executive Vice President,
Chief Legal and Risk Officer
In his capacity as Chief Legal and Risk Officer, Mr. Helfrich is responsible for procurement, contracting, regulatory compliance, and investor relations at Aklero. Previously, Mr. Helfrich served as Executive Vice President at Verilaw Technologies, Inc., where he was a co-founder. After LexisNexis acquired Verilaw, Mr. Helfrich served on the senior management team of a division at LexisNexis, first as VP of Sales, then as EVP of the Business Unit.
Mr. Helfrich was formerly President and CEO of Alternative Legal, Inc., a company that provided Fortune 500 firms with an innovative outsourced solution for complex and recurring legal research projects.
Mr. Helfrich started his career as an attorney, practicing with law firms in Philadelphia and New York. He also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Policy Development, where he lobbied Congress on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office.
Craig Riddell
Senior Vice President, Client Solutions
Mr. Riddell is a real estate finance industry veteran with over 20 years of experience at prominent mortgage and title companies. He consistently distinguished himself as a sales leader in both retail and wholesale positions, and was a past nominee for the NAMB Broker of the Year award.
Mr. Riddell has managed successful operations at every stage of the residential mortgage process. He has been responsible for developing new products and penetrating new vertical markets. Mr. Riddell has recruited, trained and managed sales teams that consistently exceeded production quotas.
Mr. Riddell is known for his marketing creativity and organizational leadership. Craig continues to address industry professionals at conferences and other events around the nation. Craig serves on the Wealth Advisory Board of a prominent investment firm.
Mr. Riddell has a BA in Education from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
Gary Catrambone
Vice President, Marketing
Mr. Catrambone is responsible for coordinating all marketing efforts including branding, public relations, advertising, web presence, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization and out bound client contact.
Mr. Catrambone has extensive experience in branding new products in a variety of industries. His varied background brings a fresh approach to marketing in the mortgage industry.
In the past, Mr. Catrambone was responsible for product launches and bringing technology products to the global market as an IBM Business Partner and owner of a creative design firm. Clients included international Fortune 500 companies, international banks and universities. He launched, managed and owned several commercial, civic and B2C websites.
Mr. Catrambone has significant experience presenting at conferences, corporate and media events. Catrambone received a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Advertising from Rowan University and is licensed in the securities, insurance and employment industries.
Julia Hernandez
Senior Vice President, Professional Services
Ms. Hernandez is responsible for the implementation and on-boarding of all new clients which includes responsibility for the enterprise Project Management Office and for ensuring that Aklero delivers maximum value to its clients.
Ms. Hernandez has extensive experience, covering 28 years in the Information Technology, Banking and Finance Industries, with particular strengths in Operations Management, Software Development, Client Relationship and Project Management. She was a member of Lydian Data Services Management Team with various responsibilities to include systems & services implementation, project & product management, and sales support.
Ms. Hernandez held senior positions at First Union Bank and Electronic Data Systems Corporation (“EDS”), in addition to several financial services consulting assignments.
JL “John” Alarcon
Chief Financial Officer
JL “John” Alarcon is the Chief Financial Officer where he oversees financial operations, planning and human resources. He brings more than 16 years of senior executive experience and he has held positions in management, finance and operations at both private and public software, consulting, and financial services companies.
Prior to joining Aklero, Mr. Alarcon served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Treasurer for ISGN, a leading mortgage technology and business process outsourcing firm headquartered in Bensalem, Pa. Mr. Alarcon’s responsibilities included financial planning and control activities for the U.S., including financial governance, budgeting, accounting, cash and treasury, taxation, financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions and investor relations.
While at ISGN, he supported the rapid growth of the company, including participating in mergers and acquisitions, capital funding, and financing activities.
Before he joined ISGN, Mr. Alarcon served as Vice President of Operations and Finance at SunGard, a leading multinational software and processing solutions company, and XRT, an international, publicly-traded, financial software company. Previously, Mr. Alarcon also served as a Senior VP and divisional general manager at META Group (now Gartner), a publicly-traded management and IT advisory firm operating in more than 30 countries worldwide.
Mr. Alarcon holds an MBA from the University of South Florida and an advanced degree in strategic planning and control from the University of Paris Dauphine in France. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Treasury Professional.
Miguel Rivero
Chief Credit Officer
Mr. Rivero is responsible for overseeing the credit review policy at Hall Underwriting and Consulting, (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc.), including the internal quality control and personnel training.
Prior to his employment at Hall, Mr. Rivero was Director of Operations at Lydian Data services, where he managed two client accounts for the compliance and credit due diligence review, customer service and servicing transfer functions.
Mr. Rivero started his career in the Savings and Loan industry, where he held positions in underwriting management and credit risk management. Mr. Rivero is a graduate of The George Washington University, with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.
Robert Thomas
Vice President of Credit Operations
As Vice President of Credit Operations of Hall Underwriting and Consulting (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc.), Mr. Thomas oversees front-end and forensic underwriting for the company. He is responsible for the overall underwriting quality as well as client relationships and transaction management.
Prior to joining Hall, Mr. Thomas served as Vice President of Operations for Lydian Data Services where he was responsible for Correspondent and Bulk Due Diligence trades and managed a national mortgage fulfillment center.
Mr. Thomas has over 25 years experience in the financial services industry, 21 years specializing in Mortgage Banking and Mortgage Fulfillment Services with the last 16 years serving in senior management roles. Mr. Thomas attended the University of South Florida and is a Member of the National Association of Review Appraisers and Mortgage Underwriters.
Griff Durham
Vice President of Credit Operations
Mr. Durham is the Chief Operating Officer of Hall Underwriting and Consulting (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc.) and also oversees the forensic underwriting teams and the quality control auditing division of Aklero. Additionally, Mr. Durham is responsible for all client reporting and transaction management of all pre purchase and post purchase due diligence transactions on both a bulk and flow basis.
Prior to his employment with Hall Underwriting and Consulting, Mr. Durham spent seven years in bulk transaction management with Lydian Data Services as well as Office Tiger Global Real Estate, formally MortgageRamp. Mr. Durham is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Alabama, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce & Business Administration.
