Sean Dobson, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, has been the head mortgage analyst and trader at Amherst Securities since he joined the firm in 2000. Mr. Dobson is widely recognized as one of the leading strategists in the industry and an expert in all facets of the mortgage business including loans, RMBS and related derivatives. He has led the development of Amherst's loan level diagnostic system (ALIAS) that is widely recognized for its predictive analytics. In 2006, he made a vocal announcement predicting the coming meltdown in the mortgage markets based on research produced using these tools; and he created Amherst Derivatives Trading to offer analytical and intermediation services related to derivative strategies designed to take advantage of the market disruption. In August 2008, he successfully completed a $235mm capital raise led by Stonepoint Capital to expand the broker dealer and finance new initiatives in CMBS, advisory and asset management.

 

Mr. Dobson has over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, including previous senior management positions with Spires Financial and the MMAR Group, Inc. He currently serves as a board member of the American Securitization Forum (ASF) and his advice on mortgage policy matters is regularly sought by congressional leaders, housing policy leaders at the Treasury and other government agencies and senior administration officials at the White House.

 

Terence Browne, SVP-Chief Operations Officer, is an accomplished executive in financial services and technology, having served as Interim-C.E.O. and C.F.O & General Counsel of COVEGA Corporation, and General Counsel of Partners First Holdings, LLC. Previously, Mr. Browne was an Associate at Mayer Brown & Platt, and Senior Attorney, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Mr. Browne received his MBA-finance from Johns Hopkins University, JD from Boston University, and BA, magna cum laude, from University at Albany.

 

Alan Gilbert, CPA, CFA, Vice Chairman, helps manage the Capital Markets activities at Amherst Securities. Prior to joining Amherst as a founding partner in 1993, Mr. Gilbert headed the Latin American sales effort at CS First Boston, and previously worked in the Capital Markets team at Kidder Peabody. Mr. Gilbert earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BSBA in Accounting, with honors, from Georgetown University.

 

Michael Sullivan, CPA, SVP-Chief Financial Officer, joined Amherst in 2005. Mr. Sullivan was previously SVP-CFO for Guaranty Residential Lending, Inc., (f.k.a. Temple-Inland Mortgage Company). Prior to Guaranty, Mr. Sullivan served as the President & CFO of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, and began his 16-year career in the mortgage finance business with the Lomas Financial Group. Mr. Sullivan earned his BBA in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington.

 

Darla Bartkowiak, SVP-Chief Compliance Officer, has managed the compliance initiatives of the company since 2002. Ms. Bartkowiak has over 28 years of securities industry experience, including experience in trading, sales and back office operations. Prior to joining Amherst, Ms. Bartkowiak engaged in compliance consulting, and previously worked in compliance positions with the NASD in Dallas and Southwest Securities. Ms. Bartkowiak is an NASD Industry Arbitrator and currently holds six industry licenses. Ms. Bartkowiak graduated with honors from Amberton University with a B.S. in Human Relations and Business.

 

Roxann Taylor, Senior Managing Director, worked as Senior Managing Director for 14 years with Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., in institutional fixed-income sales, specializing in mortgage products. Prior to working at Bear Stearns, she worked as First Vice President of Westcap Securities, Inc., in Houston Texas. Roxann has a Business degree from Georgetown University.

 

Joe Walsh, President, co-manages the business and operations of the Amherst Companies. Mr. Walsh has been in the mortgage-backed securities business for almost 25 years. He previously served as a Managing Director in the private equity business at Fotress Investment Group specializing in financial institutions. Mr. Walsh also served for nine years as a Managing Director and Head of Mortgage and Asset-Backed Origination, Finance and Trading at RBS Greenwich Capital. Mr. Walsh earned his A.B. in Biology at Princeton University.

 

Ramon de Castro, SVP-Chief Risk Officer, is responsible for assessing and managing the various forms of risks faced by the company. Mr. de Castro spent the past 18 years at Fannie Mae, where he most recently worked as Senior Vice President of Capital Markets. In that position, he led the trading and investment activity of all mortgage assets for Fannie Mae’s retained portfolio. Mr. de Castro received his MBA from the University of Chicago and his BA from Johns Hopkins University.
 

Roger Taylor, Vice Chairman, was President and COO of FSA Holdings from November 1997 to January 2002; President of FSA, Inc. from November 1997 to November 2000, and its Vice Chairman from January 2002 until his retirement in July 2004. He had been COO of both companies since May 1993 and a member of the FSA Holdings Board of Directors from February 1995 until July 2009. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of FSA’s Financial Guaranty Department, and was a founder and Executive Vice President of Financial Guaranty Insurance Company. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of Williams College and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.