Speakers

Jim Payne
Deputy Commissioner
Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner

Jim Payne has a background in commercial banking at a state-chartered bank in Topeka, Kansas and has served with the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC) since 2004. He began his regulatory career as a financial examiner in the nonbank space, primarily mortgage and consumer credit examinations and investigations. Later serving as Review Examiner and then Regional Manager, he specialized in a range of industries including mortgage, auto finance, small loan lending, debt management, and money transmission, demonstrating a desire to learn and grow with each opportunity presented. Jim broadened his skillset in a six-year stint as Director of Licensing spurring developments in streamlined processes and records management, namely by digitizing license applications, expanding use of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), introducing online payments, and more. He then returned to leading examinations, serving six years as Director of Examinations before being promoted to Deputy Commissioner in 2025.

Jim has been active in committee work and leadership in national organizations for many years. He served as Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) District IV representative on the NMLS Policy Committee beginning in 2014, as Vice President (2019) and later President (2021) of the American Conference of Uniform Consumer Credit Code States (ACUCCCS), and beginning in July 2020, as the fifth NMLS Ombudsman with CSBS for three terms ending June 2026. Jim recently joined the board of the National Association of Consumer Credit Administrators (NACCA).

Jim has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance/Marketing from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and a Master of Business Administration degree from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. He serves as treasurer of the high school band booster club, and volunteers on the tech team and in financial administration at his local church. Jim was raised in Meriden, Kansas and presently enjoys spending time with his wife, their two children, and their dogs.

Keith Dutton
Senior Vice President, Fulfillment Operations
Flagstar Bank

Dutton has over 35 years in the mortgage and title insurance industry. His extensive management experience spans all aspects of mortgage fulfillment and includes a strong background in closing, funding, and settlement services.

Dutton joined Flagstar in 2020 after 17 years at CitiMortgage and ABN AMRO as an SVP of Mortgage Operations, leading fulfillment in multiple channels; he had managed direct and agency operations for 13 years at LandAmerica.

In his current role at Flagstar, he leads the closing, funding, post-closing, and construction administration teams. Dutton has worked on numerous process improvement initiatives with the goal of improving the customer experience; he and his team are currently focused on maximizing efficiency by transitioning services from a paper-centric to an electronic process. Dutton utilizes six sigma and lean methodologies as a foundation in his efforts, which reduces expense and maximizes productivity.

Dutton has a master’s degree from Central Michigan University. A father of four, with the youngest currently attending the University of Michigan, he resides with his wife in Ann Arbor.

Kylie Quetell
Vice President
Rocket Close

Kylie is a dynamic executive with over a decade of experience in the financial services and title insurance industries, specializing in strategic leadership, customer experience and operational transformation. As Vice President focusing on Experience and Strategy at Rocket Companies, she leads initiatives that blend technology with human-centered design – driving AI innovation, improving operational efficiency and enhancing both client and team member satisfaction.

With a career rooted in talent development, communications and process improvement, Kylie has built a reputation for fostering inclusive, collaborative cultures where people thrive. She brings deep expertise in talent strategy, training and client communications – always with a focus on delivering measurable results and meaningful change.

Gina Sultan
Director of Compliance & Counsel
Anywhere Integrated Services

Gina Sultan is Director of Compliance & Counsel at Anywhere Integrated Services, advising leadership and business stakeholders on legal risk and developing compliance frameworks that are practical, sustainable, and built to withstand regulatory scrutiny. She specializes in spotting operational and regulatory risks early and crafting solutions that integrate seamlessly into day‑to‑day operations.

Gina’s decade in private practice gave her deep operational insight into real estate settlements and title workflows, enabling her to serve as a practical, solutions‑oriented legal business partner. Her expertise has been recognized in Virginia circuit courts, where she has qualified and testified as an expert witness in real estate title and settlements.

Her approach blends corporate strategy with real‑world operational understanding, driving clarity, consistency, and accountability across compliance efforts.

Marx Sterbcow
Managing Attorney
Sterbcow Law Group

Marx Sterbcow is nationally recognized as one of the leading legal authorities in the financial settlement services industry.  Sterbcow’s practice focuses on RESPA, UDAAP, TILA, ECOA, Fair Housing Act, and other administrative and regulatory compliance laws. He advises banks, mortgage lenders, title insurance agencies and underwriters, law firms, property & casualty insurance agencies, and real estate brokerage companies across the United States on matters involving affiliated business arrangements, third-party vendor management auditing, CFPB & state regulatory enforcement, social media oversight, mergers and acquisitions, marketing and advertising agreement compliance, lead generation programs, and promotional advertising program guidance.

Sterbcow graduated from Tulane University with a B.A., Gonzaga University School of Law with a J.D., and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Real Estate Law with an LLM.  His commitment to excellence in the field has earned him recognition as a Trendsetter by The Title Report.

A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Sterbcow continues to shape the industry’s response to emerging regulatory challenges, pioneering innovative legal strategies in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Susan Green
Head of Marketing, Branding & Communication
Ardán

Susan A Green – Head of MARCOMM at Ardán, Inc. parent company of Westcor Land Title Insurance Company, Westcor International, Grid151, X1Analytics and AgentHome.

Ms. Green has been leading the marketing, branding, and communications strategy for Ardán family of companies since 2013. She creates and manages compelling content and campaigns across every brand in the Ardán family, from digital and social media to print and events, to drive broader brand awareness and brand loyalty to the Ardán family of companies.

With over 27 years of hands-on experience in B2B and retail marketing, she has developed a strong expertise in brand development, social networking, and event management. Ms. Green has also been recognized for strategic partnerships, and creative talent.

She was recognized in 2025 – HousingWire’s Marketing Leader of the Year.

Ms. Green resides in Colorado and spends time volunteering with various ALS charities to raise awareness and monies for research. Her current passion project is the creation and illustration of a children’s book inspired by her daughter, Madison.

Charlotte Brown
Vice President of Product & Design
Qualia

Charlotte Brown is Vice President of Product & Design at Qualia. In her 9-year tenure, she has guided the nationwide expansion of its title & escrow software and been instrumental to growing Qualia’s research and development organization. In 2020, Charlotte was recognized as a HousingWire Tech Trendsetter for her work to push forward digital innovation in the mortgage industry. She was also recognized as a HousingWire Woman of Influence in 2018. Before working in real estate technology, she worked in public health internationally. Charlotte graduated from Stanford University cum laude with a BA in Neuroscience.

Rick Diamond
VP of Information Technology, Agency Operations
Fidelity National Financial

Rick Diamond currently serves as Vice President of Information Technology, Agency Operations Fidelity National Financial. Rick is involved in all I.T. initiatives in the company’s agency operations nationwide. Rick maintains dialogue with agents and speaks throughout the country about technology, Digital Closing processes, A.I., RTP, Data Security, Wire Fraud, I.T. trends and ways to use technology to assist in title processing and compliance. He consults with agents in many aspects of technology with the main focuses being; how to make the relationship easier between Title Agents and FNF through technology, how to streamline back office procedures to save time, money and to be more efficient, data security to protect the agents as well as their businesses, helping agents’ clients close on their terms and how to use technology to grow their business. Rick is a staunch advocate for a great number of agents across the country and has a reputation for putting his clients ahead of all else. Rick has over 36 years of experience in the industry, he was VP, Division IT Director for 24 years and served as VP and State Manager. Rick is a member of the American Land Title Association, ALTA’s Best Practices Executive Committee, ALTA’s Technology Committee, ALTA’s Best Practices Committee, ALTA’s Information Security Executive Committee, MMBA Technology Committee and the New England Land Title Association. He served on the Executive Board of Directors for Massachusetts Title, the oldest Title Insurance Company in the United States. He is a former board member and remains actively involved with the Room to Dream Foundation, a children’s charity which donates renovation and home improvement services to chronically ill children in Massachusetts.

Patrick Curry
President
Allegiance Title

Patrick Curry is a title industry operator focused on transforming how real estate data is organized, structured, and used at scale. As President and Founder of Allegiance Title of Arkansas, he leads one of the fastest-growing title agencies in Arkansas while building technology systems that modernize document workflows across the industry.

Patrick built his career at the intersection of finance, operations, and real estate infrastructure, beginning at Deloitte Tax in Denver, Colorado. After Deloitte, he spent 15 years at WACO Title Company, where he served as Controller, COO, and later President and CEO. During that time, he developed large-scale operational systems and built a reputation for process efficiency and customer service execution.

In 2021, he founded Allegiance Title with a focus on combining high-touch customer service with data-driven operations. His current work centers on real estate document digitization, structured data extraction, and AI-enabled workflow automation. He has been an early advocate and industry contributor to PropertySync, a platform helping standardize how title plants and real estate records are stored and accessed digitally.

Patrick serves on the advisory board for First National Bank of Northwest Arkansas and was appointed by former Governor Asa Hutchinson to Arkansas’ Electronic Recording Commission, where he supports statewide modernization of recording infrastructure. He was also recognized as one of the Arkansas 250 Most Influential Business Leaders, highlighting his role in advancing innovation within the state’s real estate and business communities.

Outside of work, he spends time with his wife Sarah and their four children, enjoys running, baking bread, and coaching youth sports.

Robert Zwink
CTO & Co-founder
Razi

Robert Zwink, a seasoned technology executive with over 20 years of experience, is the CTO and Co-founder of Razi Title, Inc. His career spans roles at JPMorgan Chase, ClickSWITCH, and SafeChain Financial, where he led the development of innovative solutions, including wire fraud prevention software and blockchain applications. With a strong background in software engineering and enterprise architecture, Robert has driven technological change in fintech and real estate, managing large-scale systems and regulatory compliance. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Science from Franklin University and is passionate about mentoring entrepreneurs.

Brian Webster
President/CEO
NotaryCam

As President/CEO, Brian Webster leads NotaryCam’s strategic growth and focus on expanding the company’s remote online notarization (RON) products and services, with an emphasis on increasing mortgage and real estate adoption. Prior to joining NotaryCam, Brian held senior leadership positions at both Freedom Mortgage and Wells Fargo, where he led digital transformation initiatives focusing on eMortgage program implementations. In January 2013, Brian joined the CFPB as the Originations Program Manager within the Mortgage Markets team and served as CFPB’s expert in residential mortgage originations and technology. Brian began his mortgage banking career as a mortgage originator and has also held positions at Freddie Mac, PCLender and Overture Financial Solutions.

Leslie Wyatt
Director of Regulatory Compliance
SoftPro

Leslie Wyatt is the Director of Regulatory Compliance at SoftPro.  She began her career in the real estate industry over 20 years ago and joined SoftPro in 2002.  She currently oversees the Compliance Department with her primary focus being on regulatory issues at the Federal, state and county levels.

Leslie is a member of the ALTA Implementation Task Force, the Title Action Network Steering Committee, the ALTA Government Affairs Committee, the ALTA Membership Committee (Mentorship Subcommittee), the ALTA Education Committee, the ALTA Our Values Committee, the HOP Committee, the TLTA Federal Issues Committee.  She has represented ALTA at a congressional briefing regarding the CFPB and the TRID changes.  Leslie travels though out country speaking on our industry’s hot topics with a focus on market trends, mentorship and leadership, AI in the Title Industry, the next generation of title experts and regulatory and compliance.  Leslie continues to work with the CFPB on various projects regarding TRID, MISMO and other industry topics.

Eric Lapin
Managing Partner
Finfusion

Eric Lapin is a senior financial services executive and advisor with more than 25 years of experience across lending, housing finance, fintech, and risk and compliance. He works closely with regulated institutions, GSEs, and fintech platforms on strategy, regulatory readiness, and technology modernization, including AI governance, open banking frameworks, and blockchain-enabled workflows.

Eric is the Managing Partner of FinFusionConsulting.com, where he advises lenders, title insurers, fintech companies, private equity firms, and industry organizations. His work focuses on growth strategy, vendor management, buy-versus-build technology decisions, and M&A diligence across mortgage and housing-related platforms. He serves as a Business Advisor to the American Bankers Association on regulator-ready AI and financial services modernization and is also a Senior Advisor to SCETA (South Carolina Emerging Tech Association).

Previously, Eric served as President of FormFree, where he led open banking and alternative credit initiatives and executed a successful carve-out transaction to Informative Research (a Stewart Title company). His earlier leadership roles include positions at Black Knight, Credit Suisse, and Old Republic Title, spanning corporate development, product strategy, and client relationship management and partnerships.

Francis “Trip” Riley
Partner
Saul Ewing

Francis “Trip” Riley represents clients who are facing complex civil litigation filed by a single plaintiff, as well as class actions, arising from commercial and consumer financing, consumer-facing services and product sales, and business-to-business transactions and competition. He prides himself on understanding his clients’ unique businesses and partners with them to help achieve results in line with their goals in the often highly-charged setting of civil litigation. However, when a difficult dispute cannot otherwise be resolved, Trip and his team are prepared to go to trial.

Tara Asquith
Chief Product Officer
SoftPro

Tara Asquith serves as the Chief Product Officer (CPO) at SoftPro, where she oversees product planning and execution across all SoftPro product lines, including Select, Standard/Enterprise, ClosingsLIVE, and SoftPro 360. She joined SoftPro in 2020, bringing with her two decades of experience as Senior Vice President of Product for agency technology applications at Fidelity National Financial. Prior to her tenure at Fidelity, Tara held various positions in a full-service agency operation in the Northeast, gaining comprehensive experience in all aspects of title insurance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Management Information Systems from the University of Delaware and is a Certified Project Management Professional.

Erica Meyer
CEO and Publisher
October Research, LLC

Erica Meyer is Owner and Publisher of October Research, LLC. October Research is dedicated to educating and empowering professionals in the real estate transaction to strengthen their business and enhance their position in the marketplace, ensuring the integrity of home ownership. The company provides education through their five B2B publications, annual conferences, webinars, websites, email newsletters, marketing and advertising services, social media and custom publishing.

Prior to purchasing October Research in 2011, Ms. Meyer worked in the online business unit at Sears Holdings Corporation and spent 10+ years with UPS in sales management, technology, revenue management and marketing.

Ms. Meyer earned her BA from the University of Dayton and MBA from National-Louis University. She has been a member of Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA), Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), serves on the Talent and PR Committees for the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and works closely with numerous industry associations. She has completed the Aileron Course for Presidents, spoken at the Kent State 2019 Spirit of Women in Business conference and other industry conferences.

In 2019, Ms. Meyer was recognized by Crain’s as a Notable Woman in Entrepreneurship and in 2014 a Women of Influence in Housing by HousingWire Magazine.  In her free time, she has tutored high school students for the ACT, fundraised and coordinated numerous community service events, ran half marathons but her favorite pastime is spending time with her husband and kids.

Eric Cruz
CRO
Propy

Eric L. Cruz is the CRO at Propy, a leader in Blockchain, AI, RWA, and PropTech. With over 15 years of experience in sales operations, project management and real estate, Eric excels at crafting innovative strategies to drive revenue, build client relationships, and exceed business goals. A dynamic and results-focused leader, Eric is passionate about connecting with others and sharing insights on sales, technology, and innovation. Outside of work, Eric enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and exploring the outdoors with his dog.