Edward Resendez
About Edward Resendez
Independent director of Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC), serving on the Board since August 2007; age 68 in the latest proxy. He holds a B.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University (1978) and is a licensed real estate broker in California, with deep operating experience across mortgage origination, servicing, securitization, and credit risk management .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NuBridge Commercial Lending LLC | President & Chief Operating Officer | Aug 2020 – Aug 2023 | Led small-balance commercial mortgage origination, servicing, finance operations |
| Cherrywood Commercial Lending, LLC | Vice Chairman, President & Chief Operating Officer | Nov 2013 – Feb 2018 | Scaled small-balance commercial mortgage origination and securitization platform |
| Cherrywood Mortgage, LLC (successor to Cherrywood) | President & Chief Operating Officer | Mar 2018 – Mar 2020 | Continued leadership of successor platform |
| Kinecta Federal Credit Union / Kinecta Alternative Financial Solutions, Inc. | SVP–Chief Lending Officer; President of Kinecta Alternative Financial Solutions, Inc. | 2007 – Sep 2009 | Chief lending oversight; alternative financial solutions leadership |
| ResMAE Financial Corporation / ResMAE Mortgage Corporation | Chief Executive Officer; Board Member; Co‑Founder | 2002 – 2007 | Built and led subprime mortgage origination/sale/servicing operation |
| Long Beach Mortgage Company / Long Beach Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: LBFC) | President; Director; prior EVP/VP roles | President 1995–2000; management roles 1987–1995 | Led subprime mortgage originator; earlier roles in loan administration, risk, servicing, retail origination |
| Transamerica Financial Services | Managerial positions | 1977 – 1987 | Consumer finance management experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| — | No other public company directorships disclosed for Resendez in EFC proxy biographies | Not disclosed |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined Resendez is independent under NYSE and EFC Corporate Governance Guidelines .
- Executive sessions: Independent directors met quarterly; four executive sessions in 2024 .
- Attendance: In 2024 the Board held 13 meetings; each current director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; Resendez attended the 2024 annual meeting .
Committee assignments (current per latest proxy):
| Committee | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation | Chair | Compensation Committee composed solely of independent directors; no consultant utilized |
| Audit | Member | All members financially literate; Audit Committee oversees financial reporting and auditor independence |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | Reviews Board composition; approves related‑party transactions |
Committee activity:
| Committee | Meetings in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Audit | 10 |
| Compensation | 9 |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | 5 |
Fixed Compensation
Program structure (independent directors):
| Element | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (independent directors) | $95,000 | $105,000 |
| Board Chair additional retainer | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Audit Chair additional retainer | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Compensation Chair additional retainer | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Nominating Chair additional retainer | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Longbridge board service additional retainer (if applicable) | $20,000 | $20,000 |
Resendez – total director compensation:
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $123,000 | $133,000 |
| Equity Compensation Awards (grant‑date fair value) | $100,000 | $110,003 |
| All Other Compensation (dividends on unvested OP LTIP Units) | $8,369 | $12,133 |
| Total Compensation | $231,369 | $255,136 |
Performance Compensation
Equity awards to independent directors (OP LTIP Units under EFC’s 2017 Plan; time‑based vesting, not performance‑based):
| Attribute | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Grant date | Dec 14, 2023 | Sep 11, 2024 |
| Instrument | OP LTIP Units | OP LTIP Units (Resendez) |
| Units awarded | 7,657 | 8,378 |
| Grant‑date fair value | ~$100,000 | $110,003 |
| Vesting | Vests in full Sep 13, 2024 (all non‑employee directors) | Resendez’s OP LTIP Units vest in full Sep 10, 2025 (subject to continued service) |
| Dividends on unvested units | Included in “All Other Compensation” | Included in “All Other Compensation” |
- No performance metrics tied to director equity (awards are time‑based; OP LTIP Units convertible to OP Units, then redeemable into common shares or cash at company’s election) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Interlock/Conflict Notes |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | Compensation Committee Interlocks: Members included Resendez; other than Ms. Mumford’s prior CFO service, no relationships requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S‑K . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Mortgage lending and small‑balance commercial origination leadership; senior roles at Long Beach Mortgage, ResMAE, Kinecta, Cherrywood, NuBridge .
- Credit, risk management, and loan administration, including servicing and securitization experience .
- California real estate broker license; B.B.A. (Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, 1978) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Common Shares | OP LTIP Units | Total Beneficial Ownership | % Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Resendez | 2,500 | 57,169 | 59,669 (assuming LTIP units convert) | <1% (EFC total shares outstanding 94,513,137 as of Apr 10, 2025) |
- Pledging/hedging: EFC prohibits short sales or derivative transactions designed to hedge/off‑set decreases in market value of company securities by directors/officers and EMG personnel .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent status; chairs Compensation Committee and serves on Audit and Nominating & Corporate Governance; steady committee engagement (2024: Audit 10, Comp 9, Nominating 5 meetings); attendance standards met; independent director executive sessions held quarterly .
- Alignment: Receives annual equity via OP LTIP Units; awards convertible into OP Units and ultimately common shares, supporting ownership alignment; beneficial ownership recorded though <1% .
- Compensation oversight: As Compensation Chair, Resendez leads director/executive pay decisions; the Committee did not use an external compensation consultant, increasing importance of robust internal benchmarking and investor feedback (say‑on‑pay support was ~86% in 2024) .
- Related‑party oversight: Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (of which Resendez is a member) pre‑approves related‑party transactions and reviews EMG/Manager cross/principal transactions per policy—key given EFC’s external management structure and affiliated transactions .
- RED FLAGS / Watch items:
- External management and fee structure plus permitted cross/principal transactions with EMG affiliates create potential conflicts; mitigation depends on strict committee pre‑approval, pricing policies, and independent director oversight .
- Background includes leadership across subprime mortgage originators (Long Beach, ResMAE); while no legal proceedings are disclosed in the proxy, investors may scrutinize legacy risk governance experience .
- Additional signals: Directors/officers barred from hedging/shorting company stock; equity awards to directors are time‑based (not performance‑linked), and dividends are paid on unvested units—common in OP LTIP structures but lowers performance sensitivity for directors .