Leadership team

Justin Messer is proud to serve as Prosperity Home Mortgage’s second President and Chief Executive Officer. With over 15 years of leadership experience in the industry, Justin brings a diversified mortgage background with a customer-first approach. Having been mentored by some of the most well-respected leaders in the mortgage industry, Justin will continue to ensure Prosperity remains an industry leading, tech-enabled lender with a focus on providing a superior customer experience. Before joining Prosperity’s executive team in 2013, Justin held roles at Quicken Loans (now Rocket Mortgage) and with The Long and Foster Companies. Justin received his degree from the University of Michigan and enjoys spending time with his family, at their home in Oakton, Virginia, and family cabin in Northern Michigan.

Katherine's 20+ years of experience in government, commercial finance law, and more than 12 years' experience in the real estate and mortgage industries, have uniquely prepared her to handle all of Prosperity’s legal affairs. As General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Katherine oversees contract negotiation, licensing, corporate law, and our relationships with regulatory agencies.

Joe Sweeney’s 12 plus years of leadership in the financial services industry provides a broad experience leveraged in his role as EVP, Chief Financial Officer. Joe is responsible for all the company’s financial functions including accounting, financial planning, treasury, and financial reporting functions. As a member of the executive team, Joe is a key contributor to the company’s strategic vision and initiatives. Prior to joining Prosperity in 2022 he served as Vice President, Corporate Controller at HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate. Joe holds a B.B.A. Accounting degree from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Brenna Dutton’s passion for customer service is beyond measure. With over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, she leads and oversees Prosperity Home Mortgage’s lending activities, credit culture and quality. Brenna works closely with Sales and Operations as the escalation point for difficult loan level decisions. Her focus also includes training, credit risk and the development of credit quality review policies, procedures, and the credit approval process. Brenna Dutton ensures that loan documentation, systems and procedures are consistent with the highest standards in the industry and are appropriate for all regulatory agencies. As EVP, Chief Lending Officer, she has final credit authority and prides herself on providing prompt, clear credit decisions.

Becky Helvey’s 20 years’ experience in the mortgage industry includes operations, sales, analytics, and reporting. Together with her formal business education Helvey is well prepared for her current role as EVP, Chief Administration Officer. Helvey’s team delivers the tools needed to ensure that staff are set up to excel in their positions. That begins with understanding the importance of each individual team member's contributions to the loan origination process, and how it impacts customer experience. Helvey also works with the executive team to drive overarching corporate strategies, particularly those connected to data security and company culture.

Matt Torres has a breadth of knowledge of financial services gained from his 20 plus years of industry experience, ranging from operations and sales roles to compliance and analytics. As SVP-Compliance & Community Lending, Matt continues to innovate and maintain our industry leading position in compliance and fair lending initiatives.

Neal Harrah has spent over thirty-five years in the real estate appraisal and valuation industry. He has extensive field experience and has held key positions in operations management. Neal serves as Chief Appraiser for Prosperity Home Mortgage overseeing the Collateral Risk Management group. The team establishes and manages appraisal and condo/coop policies to ensure credible compliant valuations. Primary functions include vendor management, quality control and appraisal review. Prosperity is committed to getting the valuation right through our best-in-class collateral process. Prior to joining Prosperity in 2019, Neal was National Collateral Underwriting Manager, Head of Real Estate Valuation at HomeServices Lending, LLC. Neal is a Licensed Certified General Real Property Appraiser and has a BS in Economics from Hamline University in Minnesota.

Brian Haug, EVP, Chief Retail Production Officer oversees Prosperity Home Mortgage’s national retail sales operations. Haug is an accomplished business leader with broad experience in mortgage origination and operations, as well as expertise in all real estate transaction and financing activities. With 500+ Mortgage Consultants in 49 states and the District of Columbia, he and his team of senior leaders promote a sales and customer centric culture through coaching, guidance, and recognition of outstanding performance. He is focused and experienced in building and developing relationships with real estate partners to best serve their clients on their journey to homeownership.

Kim Kurkowski has been working exclusively in the financial services industry for 30 plus years with a focus on sales, marketing, and leadership. She currently leads the Northeast and Midwest United States Division, where she oversees sales production with the goal of earning market share by focusing on excellence in customer service and building team relationships.

Harris Laskey leads the West Coast Division of Prosperity with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Harris has held varying positions throughout his career overseeing regional and national teams, and, with Prosperity, he is responsible for production, sales leadership, corporate strategy, operations, and marketing. Harris's responsibilities center on driving the growth, strategy, and sales production for his Division.

April Alexander is an experienced Community Outreach Manager with a demonstrated history of helping under-served, minority, and low-income sectors of the housing industry. She is skilled in banking and credit analysis. She has built strong relationships with local housing authorities and development businesses resulting in a stellar community and social service reputation within the industry.

Ron Wivagg has been leading sales teams and providing operations guidance for over 30 years. His skills in product development, strategic planning, budgeting, public speaking and capital management prepared him well for his current responsibilities of developing key sales strategies and initiatives. He also oversees portfolio retention and customer satisfaction initiatives for Prosperity.