Hometap Appoints Newman, Gaffney to Senior Roles With Eye Towards Capital Markets

Home Equity Investment Pioneer Introduces New Head of Structured Finance & General Counsel

BOSTON, June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hometap, a Boston-based financial technology company that has provided nearly 8,000 homeowners across the U.S. with an innovative, debt-free way to access their home equity, today announced two senior appointments to its executive leadership team, welcoming Cara Newman as Head of Structured Finance and Josh Gaffney as General Counsel. Both new members will report to Hometap Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Glass.

These strategic appointments underscore Hometap's commitment to industry-leading talent and a culture of outperformance, as the company expands its suite of financial products and services for homeowners while continuing to build a new asset class for investors. Leveraging their collective expertise, the new executives join Hometap's leadership with a mandate to drive innovation, cultivate new partnerships, and ensure the company's continued success.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Josh Gaffney and Cara Newman to our team, each bringing to us extensive talents and experience in the legal, financial, and capital market fields that will be invaluable as we expand our efforts in structured finance and investor engagement," said Hometap Cofounder and CEO Jeffrey Glass. "Drawing upon their guidance, I am confident that we will deliver even more value to our partners, investors and stakeholders while always driving positive impact for homeowners and their families across the country."

Cara Newman, Head of Structured Finance
Newman joins Hometap as Head of Structured Finance, a newly-created role, after nearly six years at Redwood Trust, Inc., a specialty finance company focused on residential mortgage credit, where she served as Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance. In her role at Hometap, Newman will develop and execute Hometap's asset capital strategy, finding the best market fit for Hometap's home equity investments (HEI) and leading a team focused on the optimization, structure, pricing, and go-to-market approach across various potential investor segments.

Additionally, Newman will expand Hometap's industry outreach efforts, both in her role as Vice Chair of the Structured Finance Association's Women in Securitization, and through key structured finance market initiatives relating to sustainable investment frameworks, technology and the development of HEI as an asset class. A lawyer by training, Newman began her career in Mayer Brown LLP's structured finance practice and served as in-house counsel at a global investment bank prior to joining Redwood Trust.

"We have arrived at a truly inflective moment for our asset class, as investors come to discover this opportunity and the market drives towards greater transparency and possibilities in securitization," said Newman. "Even amidst that flurry of new interest, what makes Hometap unique–and makes this new opportunity so compelling–is the steadfast dedication we bring to living our mission, engaging homeowners with a technology-first process and support that reflects itself in the quality of our platform. I couldn't be happier to bring that same dedication to a fast-expanding universe of investment partners."

Josh Gaffney, General Counsel
With more than 17 years of legal experience in highly-regulated environments, Gaffney will oversee all strategic and tactical legal initiatives for Hometap. He will provide effective guidance to the executive team on company strategies and their implementation, manage the legal function, and obtain and oversee the work of outside counsel. Most recently, Gaffney served as General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer at Banyan, a fintech company focused on using consumer data to enhance financial products. Previously, he served as Managing Counsel for American Express' Global Consumer Services Group.

"This is a tremendous moment to join Hometap, as we continue to fulfill our core objectives–building home equity investment from the ground up to serve homeowners–and, at the same time, foster new engagement with the capital markets," said Gaffney. "As we move forward, further helping this asset class evolve and mature, I am excited to work alongside our talented legal and compliance team and with our senior leadership, providing the appropriate legal foundation to match our corporate ambition and diversity of activities."

Newman and Gaffney are the latest additions to Hometap's senior leadership, following the recent promotion of Sarah Dekin to President and hiring of Eugene Wong as Chief Financial Officer in the past year.

About Hometap
Founded in 2017, Hometap is a Boston-based fintech company on a mission to make homeownership less stressful and more accessible. Starting with its industry-leading home equity investment product, the company has helped nearly 8,000 homeowners across the U.S. access their home equity without having to take out a loan or sell their home. Hometap continues to expand its suite of innovative financial products and services, developing a digital platform designed to help homeowners at every stage of their homeownership journey make more informed financial decisions about their home — and take action on those decisions — with confidence, speed, and ease. Learn more at hometap.com.

Media Contacts
Tim Bourgaize Murray
Corporate Communications
Hometap
484.515.5204
[email protected] 

Matt Conroy
Stanton Public Relations and Marketing
203.610.1421
[email protected]

SOURCE Hometap