People in the News, Aug. 5, 2025

(Thumbnail photo: Jim Wilson)

Friday Harbor Welcomes Chris Simms, Gregory Buehler

Friday Harbor, Seattle, has added Chris Simms as Head of Strategic Partnerships and Gregory Buehler as Founding Product Manager.

Simms will oversee Friday Harbor’s customer relationships and its strategic alliances with technology integration partners and industry associations. He has had a more than 20-year career leading mortgage sales, origination and capital markets teams at companies including Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, First Integrity Mortgage Services and Pulaski Bank. He is currently President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of St. Louis.

Buehler will define and execute product strategy in partnership with the founding team. He has more than 10 years of experience in product development at early-stage B2B startups.

Merchants Bank Adds Jim Wilson

Merchants Bank, Carmel, Ind., announced the hiring of Jim Wilson as the newest Mortgage Loan Originator for Merchants Mortgage.

He will be based out of the company’s Oak Brook, Ill., office.

Wilson has more than three decades of experience in the banking and mortgage finance industry. He held leadership roles at Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, American Mortgage and U.S. Bank. He also founded and led The Mortgage Resource Inc.

Rate Announces Personnel News

Rate, Chicago, announced Brian Bloete has joined its team in Montville, N.J., and Kody Miller has rejoined the company.

Bloete, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has been in the mortgage industry since 2016. He will contribute to Rate’s expanding footprint in the Northeast U.S.

Miller has rejoined the company from CrossCountry Mortgage. He is based in the Denver area, and has been operating there for more than a decade.