Leadership

T.J. Connelly, CFA, CMT

Robert M. Nilson

Harman S. Sahni

Alison G. Griffin

Rebecca C. Imhof

Wayne E. Brockwell

Jeff L. Childress

Byron L. Boston

Byron L. Boston serves as Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer. He was appointed to the role of Chairman in December 2023. Mr. Boston joined the Board in 2012 and served as the Chief Executive Officer or Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer of the Company since January 2014. He was the President of the Company from March 2012, to December 2020, and held the position of Chief Investment Officer since April 2008. 

Committed to giving back, Byron is on multiple boards in advisory and leadership capacities including Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) Advisory Board of Governors representing the industry on a national level. He also serves on the board of the Salzburg Global Seminar where he has served as the Chair of the Investment Committee and the Chair of the Finance Committee.

Byron is a well-respected business leader and investment professional with an extensive background in U.S. real estate finance, asset management/investment banking, and fixed-income capital markets. Byron’s career in banking represents an exceptional foundation upon which he now leads the Company. He oversees all strategy and operations while fostering relationships with stakeholders, shareholders, and creditors. He leads the day-to-day strategic and tactical decisions that have resulted in long-term net gains and significant economic return for investors.

Byron’s career includes building two successful public companies. He started in corporate banking with focus on direct corporate loans and bond issuances. Unparalleled training and experience with mortgage-backed securities and bond trading were gained while with Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. Recruited by Freddie Mac, he developed and led the initial investment plan to grow their retained portfolio. Following those successes, Byron launched Sunset Financial Resources, a mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) specializing in high-quality residential and commercial loans and securities.

He holds an A.B. in Economics and Government from Dartmouth College and an MBA with an emphasis in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was also a member of the Director’s Consortium.

Byron’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his experience gained as our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chief Investment Officer and President (from March 2012 until December 2020). In addition, he has substantial experience investing in and managing portfolios of mortgage assets gained in his years at Freddie Mac Corporation, Sunset Financial and various large financial institutions. He also has substantial experience in debt and equity capital markets. His participation on the board of directors of Salzburg, and the NAREIT Advisory Board exposes him to important developments in housing finance and global regulation of financial institutions and financial services firms. These experiences allow Byron to offer a different perspective on the Company’s current and future business operations regarding investments, which is a valuable resource for our Board.

Marie Chandoha

Marie Chandoha joined the board in May 2024.

Ms. Chandoha brings close to 40 years of financial services leadership experience and has a track record of transforming and scaling businesses to maximize shareholder value. Ms. Chandoha currently serves as an advisor to Zoe Financial, a fintech company. Previously, Chandoha spent nearly a decade as the President and CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management, where she played an essential role in evolving the business into an innovative and winning competitor. During her tenure, she doubled the business's assets under management to $400 billion, which made it one of the top asset gatherers in the industry.

Formerly, as Managing Director and Global Head of Fixed Income Business at BlackRock, Ms. Chandoha drove innovation in the ETF market and led a global $440 billion investment management business. In addition, Ms. Chandoha was the Co-Head and Senior Portfolio Manager of Montgomery Fixed Income at Wells Fargo Asset Management for over eight years, where she grew and scaled the business from $1 billion to $16 billion in assets under management. At Wells Fargo, she focused on managing bond portfolios, primarily for institutional investors.

She received a B.A. degree in economics from Harvard University.

Julia L. Coronado, Ph.D.

Julia L. Coronado joined the Board in October 2020 and currently serves as the Lead Independent Director.

Since 2017, Julia has served as the President and Founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, LLC (MPP) a research advisory firm with deep expertise in macroeconomics, regulatory policy, and financial and global markets that helps inform client decisions in financial services and other industries.

Julia’s unbiased analysis and insights are particularly critical in today’s uncertain, changing world. She is a regular commentator in financial media, (including CNBC, Bloomberg, Marketplace, and the Wall Street Journal). MMP delivers perspectives on the economy through its forecasting of global economic activity, inflation, and fiscal and monetary policy (with a focus on the G8 countries and China). Julia has represented the U.S. at the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development and testified before Congress on Social Security reform and digital currency developments. Julia is an independent director on the board of directors of Robert Half, an international staffing and consulting firm, where she serves on the nominating & governance committee. Her commitment to performance and collaboration is evident through roles including Clinical Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Texas at Austin, Vice President of the National Association of Business Economists, member of the Economic Studies Council at the Brookings Institution and member of the Advisory Boards of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School, and the Cleveland Federal Reserve Center for Inflation Research. Former roles in service include serving as a member of the New York Federal Reserve Treasury Market Practices Group, the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Board of the National Association of Business Economists and President of the New York Association of Business Economists. Julia served as a staff economist for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. and contributed to the Federal Open Market Committee forecasts.

She received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois and her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Julia brings to our Board extensive experience and expertise in international and domestic market economics, fiscal and monetary policy, and global economic forecasting. We believe her experience in these areas, as well as her service on other public company and advisory boards, enables her to offer significant insights into the Company’s business strategy and make her a valuable member of our Board.

Alec I. Crawford

Alec I. Crawford joined the board in March 2024.

Business Leadership, Financial Services, and Technology Experience: Alec brings extensive financial knowledge and expertise across the broad financial ecosystem, including global multi-asset risk management, public and private equity and credit, and tail-risk hedging. He is also recognized as a thought leader in the risk management of artificial intelligence. As the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc., Alec created a governance, risk, compliance, and cybersecurity SAAS platform for corporate artificial intelligence and developed incisive data-driven analytics and quantitative tools to analyze and mitigate risks through innovative strategies.

Alec also brings to our Board extensive experience and expertise in risk management and compliance. He served in a number of senior risk management roles, including most recently as Chief Risk Officer and the global head of investment risk management at Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC from 2012 to 2022. Previously, he was the Global Head of Risk of Zill Brothers Investments and was a senior executive at banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and RBS for over 10 years. He also has expertise in sustainability, ESG investing, and regulatory matters.

Alec earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Harvard University

Andrew I. Gray

Andrew I. Gray joined the board in March 2024.

Andrew has over 30 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry, including across profit and loss management, finance, and risk. He also has a strong track record of guiding company leadership teams on business lifecycle strategy and regulatory compliance. Andrew is currently an Executive Advisor at MyNextSeason, an organization supporting companies and individuals and dedicated to ensuring transitions across the entire career spectrum happen well.

Most recently, Andrew served as the Managing Director, Chief Risk Officer and Management Committee member for The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (the “DTCC”) where he transformed the global risk function to create a holistic strategy and consistent processes for managing all aspects of firm risk including credit, market, liquidity, operational, technology, and systemic risk. Prior to his CRO role, Andrew had responsibility for DTTC’s core businesses in Equity and Fixed Income Clearance and Settlement, Asset Services, Institutional Trade Processing, Wealth Management, Insurance and Retirement, and Data Services.

Additionally, he spent over a decade at Merrill Lynch & Co serving in various leadership roles, guiding the firm’s business internal operational strategy and execution, including as Chief Operating Officer for its Latin American and Canadian businesses, Managing Director of Strategy and Business Development, Head of Corporate Planning (FP&A), and Head of Finance Technology & Support Service.

Andrew started his career as a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton where, as a member of the Information Technology Group, he served financial services clients around the world.

With his extensive background in financial services and in strategy and risk management, he will play a crucial role in helping guide Dynex’s operational and growth strategy.

Andrew also currently serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Global Association of Risk Professionals. He previously served as a board member for various DTCC subsidiaries, and for the International Securities Services Association (ISSA).

He received a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Masters in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Joy D. Palmer

Joy Palmer has served as a member of the Board since October 2020. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Finance Department of Drew University, a role she began in August 2022. She also served as the Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, from 2018 to 2020, in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, whose work regulates and supervises both national and foreign banks operating in the U.S. During that time, Joy contributed to the drafting of advisories, bulletins, risk tips, and other publications to provide examiners with readily accessible resources on evolving issues. Prior to that, Joy researched companies in the financial services sector as Director of Equity Research with Merrill Lynch from 1996 to 2002.

Joy is a Subject Matter Expert in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), regulatory policies and trends at national banks with a specific focus on large banks and the mortgage finance industry. Joy’s extensive career and global focus deliver value and expertise gained through roles across accounting, finance, treasury, and investor relations. She has specialized knowledge in mortgage investing, origination and servicing and related hedging practices.

Joy earned a Bachelor’s in accounting from Montclair State University and a MBA from NYU Stern School of Business with emphasis in finance.

We believe Joy’s qualifications to serve on our Board include her experience as a policy accountant for the Comptroller of the Currency. In connection with this role, she has subject matter expertise on GAAP and regulatory trends at national banks with a specific focus on large banks, as well as expertise in mortgage investing, origination and servicing and related hedging practices, which are skills and experiences that are valuable to our Board. Additionally, her 34-year career in a variety of accounting, finance, treasury, and investor relations roles, makes Joy knowledgeable regarding operational and organizational best practices, which is a valuable resource for our Board.

Smriti L. Popenoe

Smriti L. Popenoe joined the Board in September 2023. She is the Co-CEO and President of the Company. She previously served as Chief Investment Officer from 2014 through 2024.  Her extensive career in finance and capital markets brings a wealth of expertise in risk management, investment leadership, and best practices in portfolio optimization.

Smriti is accountable for the raising, deployment, and management of the Company’s capital. With almost three decades of career success, she served as Chief Risk Officer at PHH Corporation, a leading provider of mortgage banking and fleet management outsourcing services. As Senior Vice President with Wells Fargo (Wachovia Bank at the time), she managed the $100+B investment portfolio and led the team through the financial crisis of 2009. Further reflecting a broad career, she served as Senior Vice President, Investments with Sunset Financial Resources, a startup REIT. She managed an investment portfolio of $400B fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and whole loans while with Freddie Mac during the early years of her career.

Ms. Popenoe received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1997 and holds three degrees: an MBA from the University of Rochester, a Master’s-level French diploma from the Alliance Française, and a B.S. in Chemistry and Environmental Science from St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, India. Smriti is committed to building winning teams and mentoring young professionals while pursuing her passion for the environment, personal growth, and lifelong learning.