Opening General Session: The Political Outlook with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan

President & Chief Executive Officer, Mortgage Bankers Association

Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB, is MBA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. He is a senior finance executive and corporate officer with over 30 years of experience in the mortgage sector. He has directed all aspects of lending activities, including marketing, sales, operations, secondary marketing, loan servicing, and default management. He has also served as a mortgage underwriting expert testifying on many large, high-profile cases. Prior to joining MBA, Broeksmit served as President and Chief Operating Officer with Treliant, heading the firm’s mortgage litigation support practice. He previously held senior leadership positions in the mortgage business, including 14 years with Chevy Chase Bank (including after its purchase by Capital One) and 7 years as Vice President at Prudential Home Mortgage. He has overseen annual originations of $9 billion, a balance sheet of $10 billion in residential mortgage, and a servicing portfolio of $20 billion. He is past Chairman of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors and a member of its Board of Directors.

Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Risk Officer, Freedom Mortgage Corporation

Suzanne Shuck serves as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Risk Officer for Freedom Mortgage, one of the largest and fastest-growing independent mortgage companies in the country. She has presided over the Risk Management Division for more than 15 years and also oversees Credit and Regulatory Compliance, Business Continuity, and Corporate Governance. Susie leads specialized teams of 150+ professionals with deep knowledge in mitigating and protecting the company from undue risks while promoting excellence in customer service. Under her guidance, she ensures Freedom Mortgage operates with high quality standards, exceeds stakeholders’ expectations, and excels in its mission to foster homeownership and serve the community. In 2016, Susie was honored with the HousingWires Women of Influence Award. She currently is chairperson of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Risk Committee.

2024 MBA Chairman; President, Union Home Mortgage

Mark Jones is the 2024 MBA Chairman and President of Union Home Mortgage. Mark co-founded Amerifirst Home Mortgage in 1983, a company he grew from an individual location in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to over 80 full-service locations and 900 personnel nationwide. In January 2023, Amerifirst merged with Union Home Mortgage to form a top 40 national mortgage lender, where Mark now serves as President. Prior to the merger, Amerifirst was the No. 1 USDA lender and the No. 3 FHA lender in Michigan, and the No. 13 FHA lender in Florida. Amerifirst was also a Ginnie Mae issuer and serviced in-house a $6 billion loan portfolio. Amerifirst ranked as a Best and Brightest Company to Work for in the Nation for five consecutive years (2016-2020) and was named one of the top 50 Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2021. In 2016 Mark received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Michigan and Northwest Ohio. In addition to his service as MBA’s Chairman-Elect, Mark currently serves as Chairman of MBA’s DEI Advisory Committee. He previously served as co-chair of MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council. Mark also serves as board member and Public Policy Committee Chair at Southwest Michigan First and serves as Chair of Southwest Michigan First PAC.

Moderator of CBS News’ Face the Nation and CBS News’ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, CBS News

Margaret Brennan is moderator of CBS News’ premier Sunday public affairs program “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” The second-ever woman to host the venerable CBS News broadcast, she also serves as the network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent based in Washington, D.C. and contributes to all broadcasts and platforms. Exclusively represented for lectures by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, she delivers a captivating view of the biggest stories driving our 24-hour news cycle and how they impact audiences’ lives. Since joining CBS News, Brennan has conducted numerous interviews with world leaders, politicians, policy makers, and newsmakers including Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, former U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The list also includes many presidential hopefuls as well as heads of state in Iraq and South Korea. Since becoming moderator in 2018, Brennan has continued “Face the Nation’s” legacy, helping propel it to be the most watched program in its category. Her interviews with leaders, scientists, and newsmakers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic earned "Face The Nation" two 2021 Emmy Award nominations: the first for outstanding news analysis, and the second nomination for coverage of the tension between the U.S. and Iran. The broadcast also received two Emmy Award nominations in 2022 for its coverage of the collapse of Afghanistan as the Taliban took over and for Brennan's exclusive interview with Dr. Deborah Birx, White House COVID-19 Response Task Force Coordinator under President Trump. Brennan also won an Emmy for her 2018 "Face the Nation" interview with the father of a student killed in the Parkland high school shooting included in CBS News' "39 Days" documentary that took viewers inside the creation of a movement as students turned grief into action. She joined CBS News in 2012 and has held roles including State Department and White House Correspondent. Brennan has broken stories including the news that members of the Trump Cabinet were discussing invoking the 25th amendment following the January 6th siege of the U.S. Capitol. She has covered historic moments such as the landmark nuclear deal with Iran; restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba; the standoff with North Korea; the conflict in Ukraine; and the accord to transfer control of Syria's chemical weapons. Brennan brings a wealth of reporting experience to the moderator chair on "Face the Nation" that sets her and the broadcast apart and provides nuanced coverage on pressing developments. Prior to joining CBS News, Brennan spent a decade covering the global financial markets. She anchored and reported for Bloomberg Television around the globe. Previously, she was a correspondent at CNBC with a focus on the consumer during the 2008 financial crisis and contributed to various NBC News programs. Brennan began her career as a producer for CNBC's "Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser." Brennan is a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the advisory board for the University of Virginia School of Politics and the Smurfit School of Business. She is also a member of the Gridiron Club. Brennan graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia in 2002, where she earned a bachelor's degree in foreign affairs and Middle East studies with a minor in Arabic. As a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, she studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. She is also the recipient of an honorary doctor of letters degree from Niagara University.