FIRSTCLOSE ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT REALIGNMENT

Tim Smith Moves to Chief Strategy Officer, Craig Austin to Chief Revenue Officer

AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Tim Smith has been appointed to Chief Strategy Officer and Craig Austin, Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development, has been promoted to Chief Revenue Officer.

Both Smith and Austin will report to Tedd Smith, FirstClose's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

In the newly created Chief Strategy Officer role, Smith will be responsible for guiding FirstClose as it leverages emerging disruptive technologies. As part of his responsibilities, Smith will work closely with regulators, industry, and academia to identify and develop promising partnerships with vendors, credit union leagues, state banking associations, CUSOs, and other strategic partnerships to help realize the company's strategic goals and to anticipate future customer needs.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Austin will be responsible for further accelerating revenue growth, increasing sales efficiency and building an organization to deliver results for FirstClose clients and partners. In this role, he will lead FirstClose's go-to-market activity, business development, sales, account management and the continued evolution of the FirstClose partner ecosystem. Austin joined FirstClose in 2022 with an extensive background software-as-a-service (SaaS) and enterprise technology sales.

"Over the past two years, FirstClose has experienced record growth and broad industry acceptance under Tim's sales leadership, and this momentum accelerated even faster since Craig has come on board," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. "The new roles and responsibilities recognize their individual strengths and position FirstClose to achieve its next levels of growth and product leadership."

About FirstClose

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide.  The company's mission is to increase profitability and reduce cost for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist the lender's borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit firstclose.com.

SOURCE FirstClose