Dave Applegate To Replace Greg Tornquist As Cenlar Board Chairman

Loan subservicer and wholesale bank Cenlar FSB has appointed Dave Applegate as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company announced in a press release.

He is replacing former Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO Greg Tornquist, who is retiring.

At the same time, EVP and COO Robert Lux has been named co-CEO with Dr. James Daras, who will also serve as president.

Applegate has been a board member since 2020 and brings three decades of experience in real estate, mortgage banking, and housing finance to the role of Chairman.

His past experience includes CEO of Common Securitization Solutions, LLC, a joint venture of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Homeward Residential, Radian Mortgage Insurance, and GMAC Mortgage and Bank.

He has served on the Fannie Mae Advisory Board, the Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, GMAC Real Estate, GMAC Mortgage, GMAC Bank, and Anthracite Capital.

“I am proud to be part of an organization that grew to be the nation’s leading subservicer through a relentless focus on serving our clients and their homeowners. Continuous investment in all aspects of our franchise will ensure Cenlar’s commitment to providing both high-quality service to our customers and a rewarding work environment for our talented team,” he said.

Dr. Daras has over 40 years of leadership experience in the banking and mortgage industries. He worked for Cenlar between 1985 and 1990 as CFO before joining Dime Bancorp. He joined Cenlar full-time in 2022 as Executive Vice President. 

As President and co-CEO, he will continue his current duties of managing banking functions, capital markets, finance, and risk activities.

Lux also brings 30 years of experience in mortgage financial services to his position. He will be responsible for Cenlar’s Operations & Technology, Business Development, Client Management, Human Resources, Legal, Corporate Communications, and Marketing.

He joined Cenlar in 2017 as the Chief Information Officer and was appointed EVP and COO in 2019. 

His past experience includes EVP and CIO at Freddie Mac, and senior leadership positions at Towers Watson, GMAC Financial Services, Electronic Data Systems, and Reuters.