Bellingham, Wash. – September 12, 2026 -- PLACE, a real estate and financial services technology company, has appointed Chad Smith as CEO of Envoy Mortgage and President of its Mortgage and Financial Services division, deepening the lender's integration into PLACE's homeownership platform.
Smith joins after driving 2.5x revenue growth at Better.com
Smith brings more than two decades of mortgage leadership experience, most recently serving as COO and President of Better.com, where funded loan volume and revenue each grew 2.5x since the first quarter of 2024. He previously served as CEO of Mission Loans and President of Direct Lending at loanDepot.
Envoy brings national scale after three years of technology investment
Envoy Mortgage, a full-service national lender founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, has spent the past three years investing in technology, personnel and processes, driving gains in loan officer productivity and market share, PLACE said.
PLACE links mortgage unit to its brokerage, title and services network
Ben Kinney, PLACE's Co-Founder and CEO, said integrating Envoy's loan officers and operations into the PLACE ecosystem would accelerate growth of the company's mortgage business while offering a more transparent, connected financing experience to consumers, real estate professionals and financial institutions. "I am ecstatic to join the PLACE family," Smith said, adding that the partnership would let Envoy expand its footprint and work with more top real estate talent.
Envoy will also gain deeper access to PLACE's network of brokerage, title, transaction coordination and utility service providers, which the companies said would further boost loan officer productivity.