Leadership

David Johnson

CEO

As CEO, David Johnson embodies the bold leadership we bring to our clients and the industry as a whole. With a penchant for innovation and passion for building teams of expert problem solvers, David drives our business and people forward.

Since becoming CEO in 2008, he has grown the company from a niche player in the mobile home servicing space into an award-winning, global financial services player that delivers comprehensive solutions across the consumer life-cycle.

With more than 25 years of experience across a range of industries – including finance, technology, communication and consumer products – Mr. Johnson offers clients unmatched perspective and foresight to drive their success.

Prior to joining Vervent, he was SVP of Corporate Development at Memec LLC and a consultant at McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, working with Global 500 clients across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

David is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, a partner at Social Venture Partners and serves on the board for several other notable organizations. He holds a BS from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Stephanie Jimenez

COO

With more than 25 years of hands-on experience building and managing successful operations departments in the financial services industry, Stephanie Jimenez is a critical part of Vervent’s success.

As COO, she has revamped the company’s entire operations infrastructure and team framework, enabling Vervent to grow into a proven, world-class global organization. She is an intelligent, insightful leader who paves the way for others to succeed by setting the example and always driving toward proactive solutions.

Prior to joining Vervent, Ms. Jimenez served as Director Operations at Capital One, where she established an in-house offshore operations center in the Philippines, and designed and implemented new product launches for key co-brand partnerships. Additionally, she served as Vice President of Global Projects and Operations at HSBC, where she managed the oversight and implementation of offshore operations for the company’s North American business.

Deeply involved in the San Diego community, Stephanie is an enthusiastic advocate for education, and was named the 2017 San Diego Business Journal Woman of the Year. She holds a BS from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from University of Phoenix and a PhD from Southern California University.

Dhruv Vakharia

CFO

Specializing in operational finance and strategic corporate development, Dhruv Vakharia leads Vervent’s accounting and finance department and oversees the company’s overall fiscal vision and well-being.

As a prior operating executive, he established and executed growth through data-driven change management, strategic investments and partnerships, and capital structure optimization. He has also held various leadership positions in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s investment banking, capital markets and proprietary investing divisions where he played a leading role in establishing a focus on fintech and consumer financing across various M&A, capital markets and operational efforts.

Mr. Vakharia is an active community leader who has held advisory and board positions at Big Brothers and Big Sisters of San Diego County, CFO Leadership Council, San Diego Food Bank and the San Diego Economic Development Corp. He has an MBA in Accounting & Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Economics (Honors) from Brandeis University.

Brad Herbison

CTO

Brad Herbison is solutions-oriented IT professional with a proven track record of successful software and systems implementations.

With more than 23 years of experience in Information Technology and Operations, he combines deep technical expertise and business acumen to implement technology solutions that meet complex company and client objectives.

As CTO of PFSC, prior to the company’s acquisition by Vervent, Mr. Herbison led an experienced technology team that fueled PFSC’s rise to a leadership position in the portfolio servicing space. During his tenure, he spear-headed the construction of a state-of-the-art, virtualized data center and open-source application stack that rivaled much larger players in the space.

Prior to PFSC, he led a range of software development engagements – across numerous industries including Healthcare, Manufacturing, Government, e-Commerce and Financial Servicing – as a consultant with Covansys.

Mr. Herbison holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Oregon State University.

Derek Gamble

General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Derek Gamble is an unparalleled talent when it comes to navigating heavily regulated industries. As Vervent’s General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, he guides the business to ensure maximum growth with minimal risk.

Throughout his career, he has maneuvered global organizations across fast-changing compliance environments. At Airbus Defense & Space, as Ethics Officer and Senior Attorney for customer-facing contract negotiations, he implemented extensive compliance policies and procedures for the U.S., managed a top-tier legal team, and focused on developing long standing customer relationships.

Mr. Gamble also served at H&R Block, where he was Lead Attorney in charge of Mergers & Acquisitions, Procurement, and Commercial Real Estate. He also served on the company’s legal compliance committee, which navigated the many financial regulations affecting the company.

Robert Cantrell

Chief Security Officer

Joining Vervent in 2018, Robert Cantrell fortifies our team with more than 20 years of experience as an IT professional.

Throughout his career, he has helped companies align their IT strategies with evolving strategic objectives across departments, divisions and locations.

Mr. Cantrell is a skilled communicator with all levels of management, and a natural when it comes to leading projects to completion, from initial planning and needs determination to final testing and deployment of systems in a client/server architecture.

Having led technology projects for employers in health care, technology services and the banking industry, Robert has a superior understanding of database design, software development, hardware and software rollouts, Help Desk operations, Systems and Network design and management from multiple perspectives (user, designer, developer, and management).

His specialties include COBIT, ITIL, IT Auditing, Policy and Procedure development, telecommunications management, Information Security, Budgeting, and Organizational Management.

Louis Geibel

Executive Vice President, Sales

Lou Geibel is a natural relationship builder with almost 30 years of financial industry experience. With an aptitude for providing clients thoughtful, effective solutions, he leads Vervent’s sales organization, spearheads company growth and works within the leadership team to develop new services.

Previously, Mr. Geibel was as the Senior Vice President and Chief Trust Officer at WSFS Bank, where he was responsible for overseeing institutional services and led their capital markets business. He also served as President of Christiana Trust, a leading provider of trust services in Delaware, where he managed the day-to-day business operations and sales efforts.

Mr. Geibel graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Outside of the office, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and children at their home near the beach in Delaware.

Larry Chiavaro

Executive Vice President

A trusted client partner and expert advisor, Larry Chiavaro has strategically identified and developed growth opportunities in the consumer finance industry for more than 25 years.

Tapping into deep expertise and extensive industry relationships, he has helped build the company into the fastest growing servicer of loan and lease portfolios in the United States.

Prior to joining Vervent, he developed the BPO Loan Servicing Business for CSC, partnering with banks, investment houses, finance companies and credit unions nationwide. He also created and managed a national wholesale sales force for NovaStar Mortgage and held leadership positions at Household/HSBC Auto Finance and GE Capital, where he was recognized for his record-setting production by Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric.

Over and above his work at Vervent, Larry owns the Consumer Finance Professionals Group on LinkedIn. He is also a graduate of the GE Management Institute and GE Six Sigma program.

Jannet Zamora

SVP, Operations

Jannet Zamora is the portrait of an intelligent, efficient leader with a talent for identifying the source of any problem and quickly turning challenges into opportunities.

Over the course of her 20-year career, she has mastered the art of building high-performing teams that deliver best-in-class results.

Since joining the company in 2016, she has revolutionized the way we deliver a memorable customer experience by putting her knowledge to work on everything from optimizing operations to implementing artificial intelligence to elevate performance and accelerate client growth.

Prior to Vervent, Ms. Zamora led call center operations at Equity Key and worked as Senior Manager at Great Call. She also spent more than 10 years in Sales and Operations at HSBC, where she developed progressive processes that transform operations and yield top results.

She is a driving force in developing the San Diego-Tijuana business community and is sought after for her expertise in call center development. She attended San Diego State University.

Kristin Dunn

VP, Finance

Kristin Dunn represents the heart of Vervent’s fiscal fortitude, offering more than 20 years of experience in both accounting and operational management.

Prior to joining Vervent, Ms. Dunn served as SVP, CFO at Pierce Education Properties, where she oversaw all accounting and finance-related activities for more than 40 limited partnerships and LLCs. Prior to that, she was VP of Finance at Red Mountain Ventures and ACC Consumer Finance, Assistant Controller at LPL Financial Services, an Audit Manager in KPMG’s Financial Services practice and Controller at Household Automotive Finance Corporation.

She holds a B.S. from San Diego State University and is a California CPA (inactive).

Blythe Lawton

VP, Marketing

A passionate communicator, Blythe Lawton is the driving force behind the commercialization of Vervent and its brands.

She understands the needs of our clients and how to make their customers feel connected, and knows how to maximize communication, engagement and interaction better than anyone.

With more than 20 years of experience behind her, Ms. Lawton consistently forges the best path forward to improve brand awareness, enhance corporate reputation and increase revenue. Her breadth of industry experience gives her the know-how to create custom solutions for clients across industries, and her extensive start-up experience has proven essential in the launch of several Vervent subsidiaries. Today, she continues to build lasting relationships on behalf of the company and is invaluable in managing the company’s diverse client portfolio.

Prior to joining Vervent, she was focused on marketing and selling big brands including PowerBar, Nestle, P&G, Toyota and Honda. She also spent six years in the biotech industry leading marketing efforts at Exagen Diagnostics and several genomic startups, in addition to running her own successful consulting company.

She is actively involved in the San Diego business community, contributes to local mentorship projects, and is a published author. She earned her B.A. from Arizona State University.

Lisa Turner

VP, Primary Services

Lisa Turner is a highly motivated strategic thinker with more than 20 years of operational experience in the financial services industry in Call Center, Wire/ACH settlement, Lockbox and Treasury environments.

At Vervent, she has brought all of her experience of collaboration, expert team building and open communication to our servicing teams while challenging all to continually go above and beyond for our customers.

Prior to Vervent, she championed growth as Director of Operations at National Merchants Association and VP of Customer Service for East West Bank. She also spent more than seven years in Wealth Management, Trust and Treasury at Wells Fargo Bank where she built several high-functioning Operations teams across the United States, including one that launched new commercial card products to Europe.

She enjoys traveling, playing golf and is a mentor to the LGBTQ at-risk youth community. She holds a BA in Business Administration from DePaul University.

Melissa Riggs

VP, Transformation Services

Melissa Riggs has an extensive background in accounting, reporting and operational management, which she uses to add strategic oversight and spearhead Vervent’s project management.

Previously, she was Senior Vice President at LeaseDimensions, where she gained extensive knowledge around lease and loan servicing in the equipment, renewable energy and vehicle finance industries. She spent the early part of her career working in credit and collections for various companies in the Portland area.

Ms. Riggs is an Oregon Native who enjoys running, camping, boating, and working on her property. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an advanced Accounting Management certificate from Eastern Oregon University.

John Enyart

President & Head of Commercial Operations

As President of Portfolio Financial Servicing Company for 12 years, John Enyart delivered the insight, guidance and leadership to help PFSC become one of the largest independent consumer and commercial lease and loan servicing companies in the United States.

Now part of Vervent, PFSC was a comprehensive portfolio servicer, backup servicer and a la carte service provider for commercial and consumer leases and loans as well as structured settlement, lottery, annuity, royalty and other esoteric financial products.

Before joining PFSC, Mr. Enyart was the division president of Textron Financial Corporation’s receivable factoring and asset-based lending division before leaving the company in 2007. He has also held key leadership positions at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Hewlett-Packard Credit, and First Interstate Bank.

Mr. Enyart graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in Business, and studied post-baccalaureate Accounting at Portland State University.