Chicago-based Key Mortgage Services announced the hiring of top industry executive Ralph Melbourne as its new president. Selected after Key Mortgage engaged in a nationwide search, the Chicago-area financial services professional begins his new role immediately at the mortgage arm of Baird & Warner, Illinois’ largest family-owned independent real estate services company.
“I’m proud to lead such a successful independent mortgage firm and work with the talented team at Key Mortgage in developing new methods and processes to support additional volume as the market continues its trajectory”
“As one of the first one-stop-shop companies delivering brokerage, mortgage and title services, we’re proud to add the expertise and knowledge of Ralph Melbourne as we continue making the process easier for homebuyers and sellers in the Chicago area and beyond,” said Steve Baird, president and CEO of Baird & Warner. “We’re amid another record-breaking year and Ralph’s 25-plus years of work as an innovative change leader in the financial services industry will help us further elevate the transaction-to-closing experience with a vision toward future growth.”
Melbourne most recently served as national head of mortgage lending for BMO Harris Private Bank, and as managing director of Guaranteed Rate Affinity’s mortgage origination venture with Realogy Holdings Corp. – both based in Chicago. Prior to those leadership roles, he was president of the real estate channel for PHH Mortgage in Mount Laurel, N.J., where he managed an operation of more than 400 loan officers with annual volume of over $8 billion. Preceding his pivotal role at PHH Mortgage, Melbourne held a variety of executive positions at PNC Mortgage, Morgan Stanley Credit Corp., Washington Mutual and Citibank.
“I’m proud to lead such a successful independent mortgage firm and work with the talented team at Key Mortgage in developing new methods and processes to support additional volume as the market continues its trajectory,” Melbourne said. “Consumers want easy mortgage solutions, and the one-stop-shop model Baird & Warner has perfected over three decades quickly connects clients to finance products that get them into the house of their dreams.”
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Melbourne has a bachelor of business administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A resident of Chicago’s western suburbs for over 30 years, he has volunteered at Shriners Hospitals for Children, and continues as a governing member of the Chicago Zoological Society.
In 2020, Baird & Warner recorded the most successful year in its 166-year history with more than $11.5 billion in sales and over 37,500 transactions companywide. Its one-stop-shop partners at Baird & Warner Title Services and Key Mortgage Services contributed to those results, achieving their own record sales of over $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively.
