The changes in the leadership at Sagent, just months into its full introduction of its new servicing platform, look to be setting up the next phase of its roll out.

Sagent has promoted Sridhar Sharma to CEO and named former Fannie Mae executive Andrew Bon Salle as chairman; both are replacing Chris Marshall.

"Building a modern platform like Dara is one thing, but getting risk-weary servicers to actually rip out their core systems and adopt it is a whole different ballgame," said Paul Hindman, a mortgage industry consultant.

Dara's rollout honeymoon is over

The changes show the honeymoon phase of the Dara rollout is over, Hindman said. "It's no longer about who can build the coolest platform; it's about execution and convincing lenders that adoption is actually worth the operational pain."

Customer experience, always key in mortgage servicing, is an important factor in changes like this one, said Bruce Gehrke, head of lending intelligence at J.D. Power.

"I would say that this move highlights how important the servicing customer experience has become for mortgage companies as they look to compete in today's challenging market and also in the future for new loans," Gehrke said.

"AI is the critical tool servicers are hoping can help them accomplish two of their primary goals that have traditionally worked against each other, a great customer experience at a lower cost per loan. "

What is happening in Sagent's C-suite

The changes at Sagent come just nine months after Marshall, who had been executive chairman since January 2024, added the CEO title; a month later, in February, Sharma, another former Mr. Cooper executive, was hired as president.

"The board appreciates Chris' leadership and vision over the past few years leading Sagent," a statement from the company said. "Sridhar's promotion to the CEO role was a planned transition. Chris remains close to the company and advocates for its success."

At the time it hired Sharma, Sagent also announced its Dara servicing platform, which uses artificial intelligence architecture, was now live. A demonstration version, which was tested with Mr. Cooper, was launched around February 2025.

Sharma's stepping up at Sagent users is not a "disruptive left turn, but it does change the focus," Hindman said. It makes Sagent's priority the "practical, day-to-day execution and making sure things work cleanly."

Marshall had beem president and vice chairman of Mr. Cooper before taking the executive chairman role at Sagent. Mr. Cooper at one point owned 20% of Sagent. This stake moved over to Rocket Cos. when it bought Mr. Cooper at the end of the third quarter of 2025.

"The leadership transition follows the successful development and launch of Dara under Chris Marshall," the company's press release said. "Under Marshall's leadership, Sagent transformed its vision for mortgage servicing modernization into Dara. Chris' leadership and vision are appreciated."

Marshall got Dara off the ground, but Sharma and Bon Salle are now tasked with getting people to move over to the platform, Hindman said.

What Andrew Bon Salle brings to the table

"It shifts the whole engine from development to heavy, disciplined implementation," he continued. "I think having Sridhar's operational scars paired with Bon Salle's institutional weight from Fannie Mae gives risk-weary lenders a lot more confidence to trust a migration."

Bon Salle has held a number of board member posts since leaving Fannie Mae in December 2020, starting as chairman of Home Point Capital, which was sold to Mr. Cooper in 2023; HPC's wholesale business was acquired by The Loan Store.

After this, he became a member of the board at capital markets fintech Polly.

In 2024, Bon Salle joined the Mr. Cooper board.