Bill Starkey, a well-respected leader in the mortgage industry has brought his experience and wisdom to Highlands Residential Mortgage along with an energetic vision to grow Highlands Residential Mortgage into a multi-state production franchise.
After serving 4 ½ years in the US Airforce, Bill began his career in Mortgage Banking. He started as a Loan Officer at Lomas Mortgage USA in 1969. Bill’s responsibilities increased steadily throughout the years. He filled roles as Branch Manager, Regional Manager and ultimately served the company as Executive Vice President of National Production before resigning in 1989. He was President of Temple Inland Mortgage (formerly Lumbermen’s Investment Corporation) from 1989 to 1992. He then became Chairman and CEO of AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation in 1992 until it was sold in early 2000. During his leadership at AccuBanc, he assembled a team that grew the company’s production volume from $650 million in 1992 to $13.2 billion in 1998. He further went on and served Ampro Mortgage Corporation as Chairman and CEO from 2002 – 2006.

Bill is a leader in the business and non-profit communities as well. He served as past President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association and on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and as a Director for Kilgore Federal Savings and Loan. He has also served on the Board of numerous non-profit organizations such as Interfaith Housing Coalition and The Deaf Action Center. He currently serves as a Director for the Texas Department of Public Safety Foundation. Additionally, Bill is the founding Chairman of the Board of Project Imagine Foundation, an organization he established after traveling to South Africa in 2009 where he witnessed first-hand the HIV/AIDS crises in Sub-Saharan Africa and he currently serves as a Director of the THEMBA Foundation.

Bill is a long term member of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, he served on the Board of Elders, as Treasurer and Board of Trustees for Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church Foundation. Bill and his wife Carron reside in Dallas and have two sons and five grandchildren.

Mr. Hickman brings more than 28 years of experience, achievements and success in the mortgage banking industry to his role as CEO of Highlands Residential Mortgage. As a founding Partner and Member of the company, Ken identified and negotiated the purchase transaction of Mortex Lending, Ltd., the predecessor entity to Highlands Residential Mortgage. Ken now directs a broad range of the company’s strategic and tactical activities, integrating those functions with his deep mortgage experience and broad industry network.
Prior to his role at Highlands Residential Mortgage, Mr. Hickman served AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation as Chief Financial Officer from 1983 until its sale in 2000. After serving AmPro Mortgage as CFO until its sale in 2006, Ken formed Mortgage Support Group, which benefitted a wide array of mortgage companies clients.

He serves as the Chairman of the Themba Foundation, an organization working with Rehoboth Children’s Village, a home to orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, he is Chairman of the Genesis Trust, also an HIV/AIDS ministry, located in South Africa. A long-time resident of Rockwall, Texas, Mr. Hickman and his wife have three children.

Brian Bennett joined Highlands Residential Mortgage in May 2013 as President of the organization. Brian provides daily leadership in all areas of the company with a keen focus on ensuring Production and Operations work closely together in delivering the ultimate home buying experience to our customers. As a former originator with a track record of growing world class production teams, Brian’s unique perspective on supporting today’s Loan Officer at the highest of levels continues to be a driving force behind the company’s record setting growth. His professional can-do attitude, experience, and servant leadership mentality all have a major impact on the success of Highlands Residential Mortgage.
Brian has spent his entire adult life in the mortgage business and brings over 29 years of experience to the Highlands Residential Mortgage leadership team. Beginning his career in Operations before moving on to the Sales side of the business, Brian quickly established a valuable foundation that eventually progressed to becoming a proven Production leader in the industry. Brian has served in such capacities as a top producing Loan Officer, producing Branch Manager, producing Regional Manager, Chief Lending Officer, managing sales nationally and President.

Brian has also been recognized by Mortgage Executive Magazine each year since 2015 as one of the 100 Most Influential Mortgage Executives in America.

As a founding Partner of Highlands Residential Mortgage, Brian has been deeply involved in all aspects of the company with particular focus on the company’s growth and production support. As Executive Vice President, he currently oversees Public Relations, Human Resources, and Facilities for Highlands Residential Mortgage. All of Brian’s mortgage career has been committed to and focused on maximizing his organizations’ productivity. While at AccuBanc Mortgage, he was directly responsible for all aspects of Wholesale and community Bank relationships in North Texas and Oklahoma, including personnel, pricing and profit/loss management. Brian’s leadership and ability to recruit, train and retain high quality professionals resulted in a significant growth of volume and profits for the Wholesale Division. Having started the Wholesale and Community Bank Business Division from its inception, Brian was also instrumental in developing the operations platform to support it. In addition Brian was also a founding Member and Partner of WR Starkey Mortgage Corporation, where he brought his skills, investment leadership and experience to develop that company’s successful retail lending operation.

Corey joined Highlands in January of 2024 as Chief Production Officer. His responsibilities include overseeing the existing production team as well as setting the strategy for continued growth throughout the nation.

Corey brings over 25 years of mortgage experience starting right out of college where he was a Top Producing Loan Officer. His career quickly grew into production management roles and for the past 15 years he has led organizations at a national level. Corey’s experience has always had a focus on production, but often has had the responsibility of overseeing operations and marketing as well. A few of Corey’s leadership roles where at Union Home Mortgage, New Rez, and most recently Nations Lending where he led the organization to record growth and production.

On the personal side Corey is married to his wife Kim, and they have a son Kian. The family enjoys spending time together and are avid sports fans.

STEVE PETERS | EVP CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Steve is an industry veteran of more than 22 years beginning his career in sales, quickly becoming a top LO and branch manager before moving into operations. Steve has held mostly operational roles throughout his career. Most recently Steve was the Chief Operations Officer at Gateway Mortgage Group where he played a major role in building the organization. Steve has also worked for Chase, Countrywide, CITI among other mortgage bankers and held many senior level management positions. Steve’s philosophy has always been to provide industry leading customer service to his customers while maintaining a high level of quality.

PATTY CAMPBELL |  Patty is responsible for management and oversight of the compliance, quality control, and Fair Lending programs at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Patty has over twenty-eight years of experience in the financial services and mortgage industries. She has been an active DE underwriter and VA SAR/Credit underwriter for the majority of her career and has an extensive background in mortgage operations, including retail, wholesale and correspondent channels. Patty has completed six years of prelaw studies with an Associates Degree in prelaw, and a Bachelors of Applied Science, Legal Studies, from Berkeley College. Patty is currently working toward attending St. Mary’s School of Law in 2022 as a J.D. student.

Ms. Riley is responsible for the ongoing management of all accounting, financial and treasury functions at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Lori’s background includes 27 years in the mortgage industry, having provided leadership and financial management for companies such as Bank of America, The Bank of New York Trust Company, Countrywide Home Loans, AccuBanc Mortgage Corporation and Lomas Mortgage USA. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, Lori received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (graduating cum laude), majoring in Finance. She also holds an MBA degree from Baylor University, earning a GPA of 4.0. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

As EVP CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER / CISO for Highlands Residential Mortgage, Josh Hebert brings more than fifteen years of mortgage banking experience and strong servant leadership skills to Highlands Residential Mortgage.

Josh has most recently served in a leadership role at First Choice Loan Services. He was also a former member of the leadership team at PrimeLending, serving as the Vice President, Director of Information Technology and then Senior Vice President of Information Technology. During the course of his career, Josh has been in the forefront of projects which shed light on the development of systems that improved the consumers experience and added to the technology portfolio of the company.

Josh is a dedicated mortgage professional specializing in the technological guidance of the company. He brings exceptional skills and abilities to oversee the mortgage process as customers embarked on making what is often one of the largest purchases of their lives.

Josh is a recipient of the CIO 100 award organized by CIO.com. In addition, he conducted a mortgage industry study in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard and The Kelley School of Business Capstone Team at Indiana University. This study analyzed the future state of the mortgage industry. He also studied at the American Management Associations, Developing Executive Leadership training program.

Josh resides in Frisco, Texas with his wife and two children.

Brenda Harmon, as Human Resources Director, supports staff and management across the entire company. She provides a wide range of HR functions including Staffing, Compensation, Benefits, Employee Relations and Organizational Restructure/Development. She works in close collaboration with the Sr. Management Team as well as Area and Branch Managers.
Brenda has over 20 years experience in the mortgage industry. Her professional background and forward-thinking approach to management enhances the services provided by Human Resources at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Brenda truly understands the value of our employees and goes above and beyond to ensure that each one is a big part of the Highlands Residential Mortgage family.

As a valued member of the Highlands Residential Mortgage team, Terra Johnson fills the role of Senior Vice President Controller. Having joined the company in April 2010, Terra manages and oversees the preparation of the company’s financial statements, payroll and accounts payable. With a B.S. in Accounting and Information Technology Management from the University of Texas, Dallas, she previously worked for Ranger Title Company. Her career spans fifteen years and encompasses both the real estate and the mortgage aspects of the home buying industry.

Having started her career in Mortgage by chance, Ginger now embodies 15+ years of Mortgage Banking experience along with a profound passion for “world class customer service”. While working her way through the mortgage ranks, Ginger has spent time as a top producing Loan Processor, succeeded as a high performing Manager as well as an Award winning divisional Director. Her proven ability to manage and support production staff, consisting of both sales and operations roles, has significantly contributed to the growth and success experienced at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Having an expectation of excellence is something that transcends both her personal and professional lives. While Ginger is a consummate mortgage professional, she is also a proud wife and mother of 3 children. When she is not delivering results at Highlands Residential Mortgage, Ginger is likely to be spotted on the sidelines at a football game or in the stands at a cheerleading competition watching her kids excel at what they love and making memories as a family.

For over three decades, Tim has been one of the industry’s most talented and respected leaders having played a major role in the growth and success of two national mortgage lenders. Tim led CTX Mortgage in the 1990’s and 2000’s to become one of America’s largest non-bank mortgage companies during that span. He now reunites at Highlands with former colleagues and industry veterans Brian Bennett, President and Danny Deaton, EVP-Chief Production Officer, to help continue expanding the company’s rapidly growing national footprint.

Scott plays a key role in many areas, but his primary focus is on supporting our continued growth and assisting with oversight of our production unit at a national level. Scott has over 25 years of mortgage experience in a broad range of positions. Starting his career as a loan originator, he was able to leverage his experience and grow into various sales leadership
roles – from branch manager to regional production manager.

He eventually transitioned to overseeing national builder and construction lending platforms for First Horizon and CTX Mortgage. He has held executive operations and sales roles at PrimeLending, SWBC Mortgage, and WJ Bradley.

Bill has 30+ years of mortgage banking operations experience. He began his career in processing and underwriting, and rapidly rose through the ranks to manage and lead operation teams for several major mortgage banking firms. At Bank of America, he managed underwriting and operations for almost 10 years. At First Horizon/MetLife, he again managed operations and underwriting for more than 12 years. Prior to joining Highlands Residential Mortgage, Bill managed all of operations for GenEquity. Bill has managed fulfillment activities for both the Retail and Correspondent channels nationally, however Retail is his passion.

Lance Logan brings over 30 years of experience in mortgage servicing and loan administration to his role as Senior Vice President at Highlands Residential Mortgage. With a strong background in investor relations, loan operations, and servicing oversight, Lance is focused on delivering operational excellence, risk management, and a borrower-first experience.

Widely respected in the industry, Lance is known for driving impressive cost savings and operational efficiencies while improving both compliance and customer satisfaction. His leadership is shaped by a deep understanding of the full loan lifecycle—from origination through payoff—and a commitment to building scalable teams that support the long-term success of both the company and its customers.

Passionate about solving complex challenges and optimizing processes, Lance plays a key role in upholding the high standards that define the Highlands experience.

Cleve Morgan brings over 20 years of experience in mortgage compliance and risk management to his role as Senior Vice President, Compliance & Quality Control Manager at Highlands Residential Mortgage. With a deep understanding of regulatory requirements and operational best practices, Cleve plays a critical role in upholding the company’s commitment to integrity, quality, and sound lending practices.

Prior to joining Highlands, Cleve spent more than a decade in leadership at Great Western Financial Services, where he successfully led efforts to mitigate credit risk, improve operational efficiency, and build a strong culture of compliance. His earlier experience at Citibank included key roles in correspondent and broker referral risk management, further sharpening his expertise in evaluating and navigating complex regulatory frameworks.

A recognized subject matter expert in compliance and quality control, Cleve is dedicated to developing proactive strategies that support responsible growth and long-term success. His leadership ensures that Highlands continues to meet the highest standards of excellence in today’s evolving lending environment.

Becky Hale brings over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry to her role as Senior Vice President of Information Systems. With a deep understanding of mortgage operations and technology, Becky leads the team responsible for the development, maintenance, and support of all mortgage technology at Highlands Residential Mortgage.

Since joining the company more than eight years ago, she has focused on building a high-performing team that not only understands the complexities of the mortgage process but also drives innovation to improve efficiency and enhance the user experience. Becky’s leadership is grounded in practical expertise, strategic thinking, and a commitment to empowering users through thoughtful, technology-driven solutions.

Michelle Polich brings more than 20 years of mortgage industry experience to her role as SVP Corporate Operations/Licensing at Highlands Residential Mortgage. Her expertise spans licensing, compliance, onboarding, and corporate infrastructure—making her a vital connection point between internal operations and external business growth.

Michelle oversees companywide licensing for branches and mortgage loan originators, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations, managing NMLS filings, and coordinating continuing education requirements. She also leads new hire and branch onboarding, manages regulatory filings, and oversees lease and property compliance for Highlands’ corporate and branch locations.

In addition to her operational leadership, Michelle focuses on building and maintaining strong relationships with secondary investors and bond authorities, helping expand product offerings and affordable housing solutions. She partners closely with the sales team to identify strategic opportunities and connect them with programs and partners that support a personalized mortgage experience for their clients.

Her collaborative approach, attention to detail, and deep regulatory knowledge help drive Highlands’ reputation for both operational excellence and service-first execution.

Kurt Hickman serves as the SVP Capital Markets at Highlands Residential Mortgage, where he oversees all aspects of secondary marketing, loan pricing, and pipeline risk management. With over 13 years of experience in the mortgage and capital markets industry, Kurt plays a key role in driving profitability, liquidity, and strategic execution.

Outside of work, Kurt serves on the production team at his local church, reflecting his commitment to both professional excellence and community involvement.

Kate Pettique brings over 25 years of experience in marketing, branding, and communications to her role as Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Highlands Residential Mortgage. With a strong foundation in both strategic planning and creative execution, Kate leads the team responsible for corporate branding, internal and external communications, marketing support for Loan Officers, and companywide campaigns.

Since joining Highlands, she has focused on elevating the company’s brand presence while building strong partnerships across departments and markets. Her leadership blends creative vision with practical marketing expertise, always grounded in collaboration and results. Kate is passionate about telling the Highlands story in a way that reflects the company’s culture, values, and commitment to excellence.

Jason Egan brings over two decades of leadership experience in loan administration, appraisal operations, and strategic business development. As Vice President of Loan Administration & Appraisal Operations, Jason plays a key role in driving operational efficiency and ensuring quality across Highlands’ appraisal processes and post-closing activities.

Known for building and optimizing cross-functional teams, Jason has successfully led initiatives in asset valuation, vendor management, and risk mitigation. His deep expertise spans residential lending, technology integration, global workforce management, and customer service operations—making him a versatile leader committed to innovation and execution.

Jason’s approach blends technical knowledge with thoughtful leadership, consistently delivering solutions that are lean, scalable, and aligned with the company’s high standards. His focus on continuous improvement and collaboration strengthens Highlands’ ability to provide exceptional service at every stage of the mortgage journey.