Struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com reveals series of new senior executive hires in bid for 'rebirth'

Online mortgage lender Better.com is on a mission to reinvent its image.

The struggling startup today announced several new senior executive hires, including a new Chief Growth Officer and a new Chief Sales Officer.

In case you missed it, Better.com has seen a wave of executives leave the company in recent months, during which it has laid off thousands of workers through multiple rounds of layoffs.

Now, the New York-based startup announces that it has appointed Sushil Sharma as its first Chief Growth Officer. Sharma previously served as chief product officer at LendingTree and Match, where he helped that company go public and led product, marketing analytics, CRM and revenue.

Steve Riddell has been named the company's new director of sales. He has three decades of executive sales experience at companies such as Casper, Sprint and Blinds.com, which was acquired by Home Depot.

"In just six years, Better has created nearly $100 billion in mortgages," said Vishal Garg, CEO and Founder of Better, in a press release. "Expanding our team with seasoned professionals who are always fast, hungry and eager will be essential to achieving our next phase of growth."

In addition to Sharma and Riddell, Better has also named Ryan Jewison to lead Better Cover, the company's digital insurance arm. He previously worked at US Bank, Doma and Elavon. Nick Taylor has been named head of Better Real Estate and previously worked at Zillow in sales and strategy and at Modus. Josh Durodola has been named head of Better Services after serving as the company's director of strategy and operations. Brian Ro has been named VP of People after leading total rewards and compensation strategy at Deloitte, Zeigler, Ripple, Chekr and Gopuff.

Jennifer Malin has been named head of enterprise risk and was previously a partner at global law firm Winston & Strawn. And Nitin Bhutani has been named head of marketing, having previously worked at HSBC, LendingTree and J.G. Wentworth.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Ro told me he joined the company in May and was encouraged that the company had "talented people who want to be here and be a part of rebirth".

"And frankly, that's also why I joined the company," he added. “I believe in the mission, that the process of buying a home should be faster, easier and cheaper. Better is still the number one online mortgage provider in the country, so they are a leader in what 'they do."

Better was to go public last year via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that reportedly valued the company at more than $7 billion. In recent months, the company's reputation and operations have suffered from a plethora of bad publicity and deteriorating market conditions, including a slower housing market and higher mortgage interest rates. Better's handling of its first round of layoffs, and subsequent downsizing, also brought a host of problems for the company.

In June, we reported that the company had lost three senior executives, including the senior vice president and vice president of sales. The company's CTO, Diane Yu, transitioned in April from her management role to an advisory position.

In February, TechCrunch reported that Sarah Pierce, who served as executive vice president of customer experience, sales and operations, and Emanuel Santa-Donato, who served as senior vice president of capital markets and growth, were no longer with the digital mortgage. company. Their departures followed those of three other executives who left the company last December following layoffs: Patrick Lenihan, vice president of corporate communications; Tanya Gillogley, Public Relations Manager; and Melanie Hahn, Head of Marketing.

In June, Pierce filed a lawsuit against Better.com alleging that the company and CEO Garg misled investors when they attempted to go public through a SPAC.

When Pierce parted ways with the company earlier this year, it was unclear whether she left voluntarily or was asked to quit, but Pierce said in her complaint that she had been expelled.

In his lawsuit, according to the Wall Street Journal, Pierce alleged that Better.com was wrong...