Lone Wolf taps new CEO; Fathom names VP of growth 

Editor's note: As an industry with millions of agents and over 100,000 brokerage companies, new leaders rise to the top every day. Here we highlight executives and other notable leaders who've recently taken on, or stepped away from, roles that influence the residential real estate landscape.

Lone Wolf names new CEO

Lone Wolf Technologies has tapped Matt Fischer to serve as its new CEO, effective immediately. Fischer is taking over for Jimmy Kelly, who will be staying on in an advisory capacity during the transition, according to a news release.

Fischer joins Lone Wolf from Bullhorn, the software company where he has spent the bulk of his career. Fischer held multiple positions after starting at the company in 2004 before ultimately driving Bullhorn's growth strategy as its president and COO.

Agha Khan, a director at Lone Wolf, praised Fischer's "deep product and technology expertise" and his "unwavering focus on customer experience," all of which Khan said make Fischer "an ideal leader for Lone Wolf's next chapter."

Khan also thanked the company's outgoing CEO for "his leadership during a pivotal period in Lone Wolf's evolution."

Kelly, who held the CEO role for seven years, expressed pride in what his team accomplished and said he looks forward "to watching Lone Wolf continue to grow and succeed under Matt's leadership."

"I have long admired Lone Wolf and its leadership position in the real estate technology industry," Fischer said, adding, "I look forward to working alongside Lone Wolf's incredibly talented team to drive innovation, simplify complexity, and deliver better business outcomes for the company's customers."

Fathom appointment unites 2 former colleagues

Fathom Realty has named Stephanie Verderose to serve as VP of growth — a newly created position at the brokerage. Verderose's appointment comes just one week after Fathom announced that Lori Muller — an EXIT Realty alum, just like Verderose — is succeeding Samantha Giuggio as the firm's president.

Verderose has spent nearly four decades in the industry and brings experience as a real estate executive, agent, coach and speaker. She spent over 20 years as a broker with EXIT, where she and Muller overlapped for 18 of those years.

In her new role, Verderose will focus on agent production, community development, and recruitment and retention. The role "was created intentionally around what [Verderose] does best — driving growth, strengthening agent retention, and building meaningful communities," Muller said in a news release.

Verderose described her leadership philosophy as centering "on expanding teams and maximizing their productivity" and said she believes that success "is built through strong systems, intentional coaching, and a community that empowers agents."

"With great leadership and a model designed for opportunity and scalability, I'm excited to work alongside driven professionals to build something extraordinary together," Verderose added.

EVP steps down at Rocket

Mike Fawaz, an executive at Rocket Pro who most recently served as EVP of strategy, growth and partnership, announced this week that he is leaving the company.

Fawaz joined Rocket in 2011 as a mortgage banker. He climbed the ranks in the nearly 15 years that followed, holding various leadership positions at the company before stepping into his first EVP role at Rocket's wholesale lending division in 2023. He moved into his most recent EVP position a year ago.

In a Feb. 16 post on LinkedIn, Fawaz thanked the brokers and team members he has worked with over the years, noting, "serving the broker community has been deeply personal to me" and that many of those he's worked with "became family to me."

"After reflection, I know that to continue showing up in a way that I believe in, I need [to] start a new chapter," he wrote, adding that his next chapter "begins with purpose" and that he will share more on what'll come next soon.