GENERAL SESSION: State of AI - Use Case Demos, Policy Priorities, Operational Realities

Director, Regulatory Counsel, Mortgage Bankers Association

Alisha Sears is Director and Regulatory Counsel in the Residential Policy and Strategic Industry Engagement Department at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Sears covers legal issues, trends in litigation, and regulatory compliance matters, and staffs the Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Committee and the Regulatory Compliance Subcommittee. Prior to joining the MBA, Sears was with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). Sears is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee, and Women in Housing and Finance.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Basis Point

Julian Hebron is founder of The Basis Point, a sales and strategy consultancy to banks, lenders, and fintechs, and a consumer finance media brand. He advises top innovators in lending, banking, and housing on their most important and complex issues. With over 25 years in executive sales and marketing roles for companies like UBS, Wells Fargo, loanDepot, and LendUS -- as well as today's fintech disruptors -- Julian’s accessible analytical style distills the noisy consumer finance and real estate space into clear insights that banking, housing, and fintech leaders can relate to.

CEO, Friday Harbor

Ellis is CEO and Co-Founder of Friday Harbor, a mortgage technology company that emerged from the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle. Friday Harbor ensures clean files from the start by putting the knowledge of an expert underwriter into the hands of the loan officer. Previously, Ellis was VP of Growth for Altisource Portfolio Solutions, and Head of Growth, US at consumer credit AI/ML pioneer Pagaya Technologies. Ellis joined Pagaya Technologies as one of the first US employees and led the launch of multiple new business verticals prior to the company's $8.5bn Nasdaq public listing. Earlier in his career he worked at PIMCO and McKinsey and Co.

SVP Products, CMG Financial

Hansen is the Senior Vice President of Product at CMG Financial, bringing over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. With a unique blend of software engineering expertise and product leadership, Hansen has led transformative initiatives across both lender and vendor environments. His career spans direct retail operations as well as technology platforms, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the challenges and opportunities in modern mortgage lending. At CMG, he focuses on building scalable, customer-centric solutions that drive innovation and improve both the loan officer and the borrower experience.

Vice President, Corporate Development, ICE

McEntee is responsible for Mergers and Acquisitions and corporate development at ICE Mortgage Technology. He started at ICE in 2011 as Senior Director of Corporate Development. Prior to joining ICE, McEntee worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta as a Director and managed the marketing of wholesale lending products, supported new product development and the affordable housing grant program. McEntee began his career as a financial journalist at The Bond Buyer and was the National Editor until 1999. McEntee currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) and is on the board of MERSCORP Holdings, Inc.

President, Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc.

Promisco is a visionary leader who has driven remarkable growth and technological advancements at Sierra Pacific Mortgage (SPM). Promisco initially joined SPM in 2017 as the Head of Retail Production, advanced to Chief Production Officer in 2019, and assumed his current role as President in 2024. Promisco oversees all day-to-day operations, with a primary focus on strengthening market position and deploying innovative technology that drives efficiency. Throughout his 25-year career in the financial industry, Promisco has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to professional excellence and leads with an intense passion for the people he serves. He is a results-driven executive with a history of creating collaborative company cultures and leading large sales teams to perform at a high level. Both his leadership skills and mortgage banking acumen make him an exceptional asset to hundreds of originators across the nation.