Leadership Team

Michael R. Hughes became a Director of the Company in November 2010 and in May 2017 became Chairman of the Board. Mr. Hughes joined Switchmate Home, LLC as Chief Financial Officer in March 2017, after previously serving as Portfolio Manager at Ascend Capital Management since 2012. He also serves on the Board of Trustees and is a past President of the Bentley School in Oakland, California. Mr. Hughes was a Partner and Portfolio Manager of Osterweis Capital Management from 2005 to 2008. From 1989 to 2005, Mr. Hughes was the First Vice President of Merrill Lynch Financial Institutions Research. He began his career as an equity analyst at Dean Witter Reynolds in 1986. Mr. Hughes holds an A.B. from the University of California at Berkeley in Geophysics. He was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1991.

Byron L. Boston is Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer and Board member. Mr. Boston is an investment professional with an extensive background in fixed-income capital markets. During his 30-year career, Mr. Boston has held a number of leadership positions in the asset management/investment banking community, and has personally founded two successful public companies. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1981 with a degree in economics, Mr. Boston began his career as a corporate banker with Chemical Bank, where he focused on direct corporate loans and bond issuances. Mr. Boston returned to business school at the University of Chicago, from which he earned an M.B.A. in 1986, specializing in finance and accounting. He then joined the fixed-income training program at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), subsequently becoming a mortgage-backed securities bond trader. Between 1986 and 1997, Mr. Boston traded mortgage securities for both CSFB and Lehman Brothers. In 1997, Mr. Boston was recruited by Freddie Mac to develop and lead the initial investment plan to grow their retained portfolio. After successfully overseeing the investment strategy and driving excellent performance, he departed Freddie Mac to launch in January 2004 Sunset Financial Resources, a mortgage REIT specializing in high-quality residential and commercial loans and securities. Mr. Boston led the company's initial public offering in March 2004, raising $130 million in initial equity. Sunset was sold in 2006. Mr. Boston consulted with Redwood Trust Inc. until he joined Dynex Capital in 2008.

Ms. Coronado is the president and founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, LLC, which provides economic research on monetary policy and global macroeconomic developments. She is a current member of the New York Federal Reserve’s Economic Advisory Panel and the Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Center for Inflation Research. She is also a former Chief Economist of Graham Capital Management and BNP Paribas (North America), and a former Senior U.S. Economist at Barclays Capital. Ms. Coronado is also a former economist in the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. She currently serves on the Board of Robert Half International and is a former director of MTGE Investment Corporation. Ms. Coronado has extensive experience and expertise in forecasting global economic activity, inflation, and fiscal and monetary policy with a focus on the G8 countries and China. She regularly discusses her views on national media including CNBC and Bloomberg.

Ms. Palmer recently served as the Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in San Francisco, where she was employed since 2002. Her experience at the OCC has included subject matter expertise on GAAP and regulatory trends at national banks with a specific focus on large banks since 2010. She has particular expertise in mortgage investing, origination and servicing and related hedging practices. Throughout her time at the OCC she was an active participant in the drafting of Advisories, Bulletins, Risk Tips, and other publications to enable examiners to have readily available resources on evolving issues. Prior to joining the OCC, Ms. Palmer served as Director, Equity Research at Merrill Lynch focused on companies in the financial services sector. Over her 34-year career, Ms. Palmer has served in a variety of accounting, finance, treasury, and investor relations roles.

Robert A. Salcetti joined the Board of Directors in December 2013. Mr. Salcetti, who retired in 2008, previously served as a managing director at JPMorgan Chase from 2000 to 2008. Prior to his tenure at JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Salcetti held the position of managing director at Chase Manhattan Bank from 1996 to 2000, senior vice president of TCB/Chemical Bank from 1992 to 1996, division manager of TCB/Chemical Bank from 1986 to 1992, vice president and section manager of Texas Commerce Bank, the predecessor to TCB/Chemical Bank, from 1980 to 1986, and vice president of American Mortgage Company from 1976 to 1979. Mr. Salcetti has served as a director of Ocwen Financial Corporation since 2011. He currently serves on its audit, executive and transaction review committees and serves as a co-chairman of Ocwen Financial Corporation's risk and compliance committee. Additionally, Mr. Salcetti served as a director of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation from October 2013 until June 2015, served on its audit and nomination/governance committees during that time and served as Chairman of the Compensation Committee. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Carlow College in 1976.

David H. Stevens joined the Board of Directors in January 2019. Mr. Stevens is a 35-year industry veteran with in-depth experience in the real estate finance and mortgage banking industry. He began his career as a loan officer in Colorado in 1983 and progressed into branch, regional, divisional, and national management roles in the same company over 16 years. He then spent 7 years as the Senior Vice President and head of the single family business at Freddie Mac, and then ran the wholesale lending business nationally as Executive Vice President for Wells Fargo. In July of 2006, he accepted a position as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Long & Foster Companies, including the core real estate company and all affiliated businesses of mortgage, settlement services, and insurance. In early 2009, Mr. Stevens was called on to serve in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary of Housing and FHA Commissioner, and he served until March 31, 2011. Mr. Stevens retired as President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington D.C. in September 2018. He is currently focused on advisory efforts in real estate finance.

Byron L. Boston is Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer and Board member. Mr. Boston is an investment professional with an extensive background in fixed-income capital markets. During his 30-year career, Mr. Boston has held a number of leadership positions in the asset management/investment banking community, and has personally founded two successful public companies. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1981 with a degree in economics, Mr. Boston began his career as a corporate banker with Chemical Bank, where he focused on direct corporate loans and bond issuances. Mr. Boston returned to business school at the University of Chicago, from which he earned an M.B.A. in 1986, specializing in finance and accounting. He then joined the fixed-income training program at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), subsequently becoming a mortgage-backed securities bond trader. Between 1986 and 1997, Mr. Boston traded mortgage securities for both CSFB and Lehman Brothers. In 1997, Mr. Boston was recruited by Freddie Mac to develop and lead the initial investment plan to grow their retained portfolio. After successfully overseeing the investment strategy and driving excellent performance, he departed Freddie Mac to launch in January 2004 Sunset Financial Resources, a mortgage REIT specializing in high-quality residential and commercial loans and securities. Mr. Boston led the company's initial public offering in March 2004, raising $130 million in initial equity. Sunset was sold in 2006. Mr. Boston consulted with Redwood Trust Inc. until he joined Dynex Capital in 2008.

Smriti L. Popenoe, is President and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Dynex Capital, a public mortgage REIT listed on the NYSE. She leads a team responsible for the day-to-day management of the Company’s investment portfolio including agency and non-agency RMBS, CMBS and whole loans, associated hedges in fixed income derivatives and financing arrangements. Ms. Popenoe’s 27 year career in finance and capital markets spans a broad range of financial institutions and experience across multiple business and market cycles. Prior to Dynex, she served as Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer at PHH Corporation, a leading provider of mortgage banking and fleet management outsourcing services. Before joining PHH, Ms. Popenoe was Senior Vice President, Balance Sheet Management, managing the $100+ billion investment portfolio at Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo) through the financial crisis in 2009. Ms. Popenoe also served as Senior Vice President, Investments of Sunset Financial Resources, a start-up REIT from 2003-2006. She spent nine years of the first part of her career with Freddie Mac, where she managed the investment portfolio of $400-billion fixed-rate MBS and whole loans.

Ms. Popenoe holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Environmental Science from St. Joseph's College in Bangalore, India (1990); a Masters-Level French Diploma from the Alliance Francaise (1990); and an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester (1993). She received her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1997 (CFA). She is passionate about the environment, mentoring women, personal growth and lifelong learning.

Robert S. Colligan is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer with Dynex Capital, Inc. He joined Dynex and was appointed to the position in August 2022 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Chimera Investment Corporation, a real estate investment trust with a focus on residential mortgage loans, asset securitization, and mortgage-related securities. Mr. Colligan previously served as Controller at Starwood Capital Group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Colligan worked for Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns on financial reporting, strategy, and investor relations matters. Mr. Colligan began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers serving audit clients and later served tax clients from the firm’s national tax department. Mr. Colligan received a Masters in Taxation from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Villanova University. Mr. Colligan is a Certified Public Accountant.