Mark A. Casale, Chairman, CEO & President of Essent Group Ltd., Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Financial Services Award Winner

Casale honored for successfully growing Essent Group into a leading mortgage insurer during the worst possible economy

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Nov 17, 2014, 08:00 ET

RADNOR, Pa., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Casale, Chairman, CEO and President of Essent Group Ltd., has been named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Financial Services Award winner.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, a leading business award for entrepreneurs, encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.

Casale was recognized for his exceptional leadership skills in founding Essent Group and growing the company into a successful mortgage insurer despite the unfavorable economic climate. He was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala, the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum® in Palm Springs, Calif. The Forum is the nation's premier gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in 10 additional categories.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges and from more than 250 regional award recipients.

"We are pleased to honor Mark Casale with this esteemed award," said Mike Kacsmar, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Americas Program Director. "Casale has tremendous experience in all major areas of the mortgage insurance industry, and that allows him to actively lead his company in all facets of its business. His fingerprints are all over both the technical and strategic sides of Essent, and he's the driving force behind the company's success."

A jack of all trades
After graduating from Saint Joseph's University, Casale started a career in public accounting, gaining a tremendous amount of experience in this space. He was later drawn to financial services and worked for several companies within the industry, including the position of President for Radian. Having held a variety of roles in these companies, Casale is able to actively manage the company's operational, financial and strategic aspects.

Casale believes that Essent has two major focuses: its customers and the company itself. He believes in a consultative approach with an emphasis on helping the company's bank and mortgage customers succeed. Casale is often in the field, meeting with current and prospective customers. Providing an experience unique among his competitors — an in-face meeting with the CEO — he is able to bring the company's services to his clients directly. Casale understands that people do business with people they know.

Similarly, Casale wants his company to work on long-term success and not just short-term profits. Focusing on the drivers of success is the primary objective, with the confidence that results will follow. Casale wants his team to search out the best mortgage bankers in their area and do business with people who will make the best counterparts — especially since Essent works with long-term contracts with residuals and tail risk. He manages his people in a way that supports his assertion that his people don't just work for Essent, they are Essent.

No easy task
When deciding to start a business, most entrepreneurs look for a growing industry with a positive outlook. Casale decided to do the opposite, starting a mortgage insurer during the country's worst recession since the Great Depression. Starting a capital-intensive financial services company is hard enough in a booming economy, let alone a housing market in free fall with leading firms already failing. Yet despite Casale attempting the seemingly impossible, he beat nearly insurmountable odds to accomplish his goal.

Casale's experience, work ethic and vast knowledge of the industry allowed him to arrange a consortium of noted capital sources, including Pine Brook, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, HSBC and others. Despite the risks, Essent Group was able to obtain a $600 million commitment from these leading financial services firms.

Not only did Casale lead Essent through the arduous process of becoming a legitimate mortgage insurer, he did so in the worst possible economy. He successfully navigated the complicated landscape of private equity, purchased and implemented a sophisticated operating platform, became licensed in all 50 states in record time, and acquired approval from struggling, but necessary, government agencies.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Financial Services finalists
In addition to Casale, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Financial Services finalists in the US were: Jim Cutillo, Founder and CEO, Stonegate Mortgage Corporation, based in Indianapolis, Ind.; Kenneth Asher Hersh, Chief Executive Officer, NGP Energy Capital Management, based in Irving, Texas; and John Kanas, Chairman & CEO, BankUnited, based in Miami Lakes, Fla.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Overall Award winner
Dr. David Hung of Medivation was named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Overall Award winner.

Video and photos
To view photos of all of the Entrepreneur Of The Year winners, please visit ey.com/us/eoy.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the US by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. ey.com/eoy

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network
EY's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/sgm or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US.

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