Orion First has promoted Jenny Wood to Senior Vice President of Client Services, Shannon Prange and Terry Wood to Vice Presidents of Portfolio Management, and has hired Brylee Horning as its new VP of Customer Service and Onboarding Contracts.
Wood, formally SVP of Customer Service and Onboarding New Contracts, will assume the role of SVP of Client Services. She will serve to integrate the functions of Orion’s departments into a seamless experience for its clients, emphasizing meaningful relationships. Her role will enhance the value of client businesses through insight, portfolio performance and satisfied borrowers.
“Jenny’s a dynamic leader,” said David T. Schaefer, CEO of Orion. “Her skills, experience, professionalism and accountability have shaped our growth and informed our direction. It’s no mistake that her strength in client services has become a strategic focus for us.” As Orion elevates its mission — “to provide deeper insight, stronger portfolio performance and a highly satisfying customer experience” — the need for client services to coordinate and integrate its services has become essential. Schaefer said, “We need Jenny to take the team to the next level. Jenny’s broad experience and encyclopedic knowledge are ideal for this position.”
"It's a perfect fit, given my experience and Orion's goals,” Wood said. “Client services are the core of what Orion is about, and giving it this added attention really exemplifies everything I love about this company.”
Wood joined Orion in November 2002 in the collections department. She’s been responsible for collection of accounts up to 90 days delinquent, supervision of front-end collections, personal property and sales tax compliance, as well as various areas of customer service. Recently, she was profiled as one of the Monitor’s 50 most influential women in leasing.
Horning, formerly VP of Credit and Syndication at Summit Commercial Finance, joins Orion as VP of Customer Service and Onboarding of New Contracts. Horning’s focus on these two areas will help build consistent, repeatable processes, especially as Orion transitions towards new ways of interacting with clients and obligors, such as e-booking and its new obligor portal.
“We’re excited to have Brylee on our team,” said Schaefer. “She’s an experienced commercial finance leader. Her knowledge will help us grow, reach and support a greater number of small business lenders.”
Horning attended the University of Arizona and the University of British Columbia. She has worked for Summit for the past 16 years. While at Summit, she filled numerous roles on the origination and syndication side of commercial financing, most recently as VP of Credit and Syndication.
“I'm thrilled,” said Horning. “It's an exciting time for Orion and it’s an honor for me to be associated with this talented organization that each day sees some new synthesis of preparation, service and innovation.”
Shannon Prange and Terry Wood have been promoted to VPs of Portfolio Management.
Prange and Wood will each lead a unit, supporting Orion’s client-focused strategy in the collections area by creating two client-centric collections teams. The new structure will limit the number of clients per unit and improve internal process knowledge on client needs and nuances.
Prange builds on her collections team leadership role, while Wood has played multiple roles within Orion and Mintaka Financial, with a deep background in the industry.
Orion enjoys a reputation for an effective collections process. Tony Sedlacek, Orion’s SVP of portfolio management, explained the two-unit strategy: “It will not change the fundamentals of Orion’s collections practices, but we expect the change to help us in our mission to delight the client and deliver best in class results.”
Orion has been in the loan, lease and contract management space since 2001. Its suite of services includes commercial loan and lease servicing and collection, portfolio management software with client portal, and backup servicing.