Bellwether Enterprise, the commercial mortgage banking firm, hired 22 new employees to expand its footprint in California. Bellwether, a subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment, will open new offices in Los angeles and San Diego, as well as expand its existing office in Irvine to coincide with the hiring spree.
The expansion is slated to add more than $1 billion in annual loan volume to the company’s books, a spokesperson said. The new hires include nine originators, four servicing staff and nine support staff.
The new recruits “have long-standing relationships in the region and have been working together in Southern California for the past 20 years,” Ned Huffman, president of Bellwether, said in a statement.
CityView also has a fresh face in its ranks. The development firm poached George Ochs from JPMorgan to be its senior vice president and head of investor relations. Ochs was a managing director at JPMorgan Asset Management, where he specialized in managing real estate portfolios.
At CityView, Ochs will help expand the firm’s relationships with institutional investors, pension funds and insurance companies, according to the company’s CEO, Sean Burton. Ochs also previously served as a senior vice president for Prudential Financial.
Meanwhile, Inception Property Group poached Doug Wolfley, the former real estate manager of Kaiser Permanente, to lead acquisitions throughout Southern California. Wolfley previously held broker positions at Cushman & Wakefield, Lee & Associates, and NAI Capital.