CEO DATELINE - Storied former NAMB CEO dies of COVID complications
CEO DATELINE - Storied former NAMB CEO dies of COVID complications
- December 16, 2020 |
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WILLIAM EHART
Donald Frommeyer, former CEO of the $1.7 million-revenue National Association of Mortgage Brokers, died Dec. 14 from complications of COVID-19, according to an industry publication.
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He was four days shy of his 68th birthday, according to an article on the website of National Mortgage Professional. Frommeyer's wife, Barbara, has tested positive and is in quarantine at their home in Indianapolis. She was unable to visit her husband once he was hospitalized Dec. 13, NMP said. He died a week after being diagnosed with the virus.
NMP called Frommeyer an "industry titan" who helped save the association after the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-09. The article, attributed to NMP staff, said the association was nearly decimated by the housing market collapse that precipitated the crisis.
"Two presidents were installed in quick succession, both resigning quickly due to ethical and financial charges," the article states. "Suddenly, Frommeyer was thrust into the (board) president's chair (in 2011)," and became CEO in 2014.
"His commitment to ethical dealing—as an industry and as an individual—was a hallmark of his character, and he used it to help restore the reputation of the brokerage industry," the article says.
While NAMB's website says it is based in Washington, D.C., Frommeyer lived in Indianapolis, and was a mortgage broker for CIBM Mortgage. When he stepped down from leadership of NAMB in March 2017, he cited a desire to focus on his family and his business.
As of June 30, 2008, just as the crisis was hitting, NAMB reported revenue of $5.7 million. By 2013, that had shrunk to $360,398.
"It's hard to overstate how influential Don was in preserving mortgage brokerage as an industry, keeping NAMB afloat as an organization, and being an innovator on behalf of brokers," longtime friend Vincent Valvo told NMP.
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