Stewart Bolsters National Commercial Services Underwriting Profile with East Coast Hire

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08/11/2022 - 11:03 AM

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stewart Title announced today that Wilhelmina Kightlinger has been hired as Deputy Chief Underwriting Counsel for its National Commercial Services group, joining the National Commercial Services Underwriting Leadership team of Don Wade, Chief Underwriting Counsel of National Commercial Services and Shawn Elpel, Deputy Chief Underwriting Counsel of the group.

“Stewart has for years been a national leader and trusted partner when it comes to underwriting,” said Kightlinger. “As commercial business continues to grow post-pandemic, Stewart is focused on strengthening our underwriting capacity and expanding into markets where we’ve previously been underrepresented. I’m excited about the opportunities Stewart has to become a premier player and look forward to partnering with seasoned experts up and down the East Coast.”

Prior to joining Stewart, Kightlinger spent 13 years at Old Republic Title, based in Tampa, FL, most recently as the General Counsel for the National Commercial Title Services Division. She graduated summa cum laude with a Juris Doctorate from Florida State University College of Law. She is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), a member of the CLE Committee of the ABA RPTE, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Executive Council of the Florida Bar Section of Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law.

“We are excited to have someone of Wilhelmina’s caliber join the team,” said Jim Gosdin, Chief Underwriting Counsel for Stewart.

Among her extensive publications and honors, Kightlinger’s articles have appeared in editions of the Florida Bar Journal as well as Probate and Property, a publication of the Real Property, Trust, and Estate Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), the latter of which awarded her the 2017 Excellence in Writing Award for Best Overall Article. In 2008 she was named one of the top women in commercial real estate by the Florida Real Estate Journal. She received the Robert C. Scott Memorial Award from the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the ABA in 2018.

“Over the past few quarters, we have focused on bringing in top talent and investing more into our Commercial Underwriting team to grow what is already a strength of ours at Stewart,” said Ryan Swed, Head, National Commercial Services. “The addition of Wilhelmina adds years of underwriting and real estate experience to our leadership team. We will look to her to continue establishing Stewart as the go-to commercial underwriter on the East Coast.”

About Stewart

Stewart (NYSE:STC) is a global real estate services company, offering products and services through our direct operations, network of Stewart Trusted Providers™ and family of companies. From residential and commercial title insurance and closing and settlement services to specialized offerings for the mortgage industry, we offer the comprehensive service, deep expertise and solutions our customers need for any real estate transaction. At Stewart, we are dedicated to becoming the premier title services company and we are committed to doing so by partnering with our customers to create mutual success. Learn more at stewart.com.