Our Team

Art Torano

Mr. Toraño is the principal owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prescient, Inc. He provides overall executive and strategic direction of the company, and has fiduciary responsibility for the corporation. He has over 20 years of executive and senior managerial experience in directing large and complex contracts requiring the management, marketing, and sale of Federal REO and other assets. As Senior Vice President for METEC Asset Management, LLC, he developed and executed policies and procedures to implement one of the first Standard Asset Management Disposition Contracts (SAMDA) awarded by the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).

Managing Director, National Home Management Solutions (NHMS) – Prescient, Inc., is majority and managing partner of the NHMS Joint Venture, which is currently working under three HUD Single Family Management & Marketing (M&M) contracts (Florida, New Jersey/ New York, Ohio Service Areas). Mr. Toraño directs all contract operations required to annual manage, market and sell over 5,000 single family homes that have been returned to HUD’s asset inventory.

Chief Executive Officer, Prescient, Inc. - Provides strategic and operational direction over all company operations to ensure (i) effective marketing of the company’s products and services to achieve revenue growth and economic stability; (ii) execution of company’s strategic and tactical business plans; (iii) establishment and administration of adequate and efficient operating policies, systems, procedures and staffing; (iv) equitable treatment of employees and achievement of a diverse workforce; (v) timely commitment of adequate resources to achieve company and contract objectives; and (vi) delivery of professional services and products that comply with contractual requirements, and meet the high standards of quality and productivity.

Sam Igal

Mr. Sam Igal, Prescient's President and COO.

  • Brings over 25 years of experience in providing financial and information technology services to Government and private sector clients.
  • Extensive experience providing financial and management consulting; asset valuation; loan servicing and restructuring; management studies; design, implementation, and operation of highly complex information processing systems.
  • Particularly effective and creative in devising and executing strategies for asset management and sales. Directed complex and successful engagements in real estate finance, commercial banking, commercial loan servicing, mortgage backed securities, revenue bond financing, asset management and sales; commercial mortgage originations and servicer reviews.
  • Engagement manager for contract assignments with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, Import Export Bank, FDIC, Bank of America, and Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
  • Directed marketing and sale of every type of real property:
    • Single and Multifamily Residents
    • Federal, State, Local, Commercial Assets
    • Redevelopment Projects (Extended Use Leases for US Army Corps of Engineers)
    • Large Shopping Malls
    • Commercial Offices and Manufacturing Facilities
    • Recreational Facilities
    • Farm and Ranch Land
    • Vacant Land

JT Thompson

JT Thompson presently serves as Prescient Inc.’s Director of the FDIC Engagement.

JT is primarily responsible for Prescient’s contract with the FDIC to manage and sell Owned Real Estate. His prior 29 year career with the FDIC has provided him with extensive knowledge related to working with regulatory agencies. In the past two years, Prescient has sold over 2,500 properties for over $600 Million in proceeds.

JT has been involved in commercial real estate for much of his professional career.

In 2005, JT joined Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. and served as Senior Vice President responsible for underwriting, due diligence, and loan processing for the Countrywide Commercial Advantage Program the Advantage Program funded over $2 Billion in loans in its first two years of existence. JT was instrumental in building this program from scratch to funding over 1,000 transactions. Prior to Countrywide, JT provided commercial real estate loan services to JP Morgan Mortgage Capital for 3 years from 2002 to 2005.

From 1989 to 2002, JT Served as a Deputy Director and Vice President for the Resolution Trust Corporation and FDIC in Kansas City and Dallas. Under his watch he was engaged in the successful resolution of over 150 failed thrift institutions and successfully marketed over $70 Billion in assets. Prior to the Resolution Trust Corporation, JT served as the Director of Credit for the FDIC’s Western Region and managed a portfolio of $2 Billion in assets.

JT provides Prescient with extensive hands on leadership experience in regulatory matters, commercial real estate and complex financial transactions.

Nitin Dave

Nitin Dave is a 30-year veteran of Banking, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, and Consumer Banking Industries. Nitin developed broad core competencies in Originations (Retail, Correspondent and Wholesale), Capital Markets, Business Development, Mortgage Operations - including Risk Management / Underwriting, Quality Assurance (pre-funding QC), Quality Control (Post-closing), Secondary Trades, Lender Supervision / Auditing and Monitoring, related to ALL the critical areas of Residential and Commercial Lending, AND Loan Administration/Servicing (including Default Administration Loss Mitigation/Loan Servicing acquisitions / valuations).

During his 25 year tenure at Fannie Mae, Nitin held various Senior Manager positions within the organization. Nitin also spent 2.5 Years at Citizens Bank as SVP and the head of the Mortgage Division, and 3.5 Years at Pinnacle Financial / Impac as EVP of Capital Markets / Secondary Marketing, Investor Relations, and Servicing. He has managed relationships with ALL key Agencies (FDIC, RTC, OTS, OCC, FannieMae, FreddieMac, HUD/FHA, OFEO / FHFA, VA, Federal Reserve, FHLBs), ALL Mortgage Insurance Companies, and the Insurance Companies that Underwrite Fidelity and Errors and Omissions / Umbrella Policies while at FannieMae and other institutions.

Nitin has an MBA, and Two Undergraduate Degrees in Finance and Accounting, with a Public Accounting background. He has testified as an Expert Witness on many occasions and has served on various Boards. Nitin also participated in creating Mortgage Banking infrastructures (and Capital Markets for Securities / MBS) in Russia, China, Greece, Slovakia, Thailand, Poland, and South Africa through FannieMae’s and Urban Institute’s initiatives. His responsibilities while at FannieMae also included cultivating relationships and developing products related to Native American Tribes, Reverse Mortgage (HomeKeeper and HECM), Title 1, HELOCs and Second Mortgages, as well as structuring transactions with Banks, Thrifts, Credit Unions and Mortgage companies on a nationwide basis. He was also responsible for spearheading FannieMae approval of many of these financial institutions (through ABA, ICBA, NBA, ALFI, NCUA, as well as FannieMae’s CDFI initiative) to invest into many banks and thrifts. Nitin is very familiar with the Warehouse Lending and Chairs the Advisory Board of a Warehouse Lending Institution that is owned by Guggenheim of New York since 2005.

Charles E. Gardner

Charles Gardner has been at the forefront of change in the way the Federal Housing Administration delivers its products since February 1998. He played a pivotal role in the strategy development and implementation of the new streamlined organization. Charles received the FHA Commissioners Award for his role and GAO recognized the consolidation of Single Family programs as one of the success stories of HUD’s 2020 reform.

Serving as Director of the Atlanta Homeownership Center, Charles has administrative responsibility for FHA Single Family business in a quarter of the country, with staff in the Southeast/Caribbean, Illinois and Indiana. He is accountable for implementation and oversight of credit and valuation policy, approval and monitoring of nonprofits and housing counseling agencies, management and sales of HUD-owned properties and lender monitoring.

Charles possesses a strong background in housing and community development. He has served as Director of Housing in HUD’s Georgia State Office, where he administered FHA Multifamily and Single Family Housing programs within the State as well as Multifamily property disposition activities for the Eastern United States and Single Family processing and underwriting programs in the Southeast/Caribbean, Illinois and Indiana.

Before assuming duties in Atlanta in December 1994, Charles held various positions in HUD’s Virginia State Office including that of Deputy Director; Director of Housing Management; and Acting Director of Housing Development. In the capacity of Chief of Multifamily Housing Programs he administered mortgage insurance origination and special needs programs such as assisted living, rental, housing for the elderly, and housing for persons with disability.

A huge proponent of neighborhood revitalization, Charles has been successful in guiding project development during his career. Prior to joining the Department, he was the Housing Coordinator for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program in Jefferson County, Alabama.

Richard Hernandez

Mr. Hernandez is a Director of Prescient, Inc. He has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in city, state, federal, and private sector enterprises in which he developed and executed strategies of national impact and importance:

  • President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Prescient’s sister company, The METEC Group (TMG) which he directed the company in its contract support of five (5) US Small Business Administration (SBA) asset sales.
  • Deputy Assistant to President Jimmy Carter
  • Counselor to Vice President Albert Gore’s National Performance Review (NPR)
  • Counselor to Administrator, US Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • Associate Administrator, US Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • Deputy Director, Department of Administration, State of Arizona

Mr. Hernandez also has been a senior manager and executive in private financial consulting and investment companies.

Lamar Kelly

Lamar Kelly Jr. has over 40 years of Director and Executive experience, providing financial advisory, underwriting, regulatory, due diligence and asset management/disposition services to Government and private sector clients. He has demonstrated a track record of leadership, vision and results in:

  • Financial advisory assignments related to financing, acquisition, disposition, and management and/or restructuring all classes of assets.
  • Financial and asset management operations.

Mr. Kelly was responsible for leading and supervising the Asset Management and Sales division of RTC, including the management of a 4500 person staff which managed and disposed of over $450 billion in assets. He also supervised the development and execution of equity partnership structures for disposing of RTC assets. Equity structures included the Land Fund, JDC fund, Multiple Investor fund, and the N and S series of equity transactions.

Mr. Kelly served as the Senior Vice President/Deputy Executive Director of the Resolution Trust Corporation. He also held a variety of positions at the FDIC from 1969 to 1989.

Served as Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Mortgage Capital, Inc .Responsibilities included leading the nationwide commercial real estate loan origination program. Loans originated were utilized for the issuance of commercial mortgage backed securities by JP Morgan Chase.

Marla Webb, CCIM, ALC, CDEI, CDSP™

Having begun her real estate career in 1976, Marla Webb has experienced a wide variety of challenging market cycles. Her business operations have included ownership of a full-service residential and commercial brokerage in Dallas, registered securities sales, and land development in Texas and California. Since the late 1980’s, she has been engaged almost exclusively in complex national initiatives that manage and market (M&M) multi-billion dollar portfolios of owned real estate (ORE/REO) held by government entities and lending institutions.

As a consultant in 1998, Marla co-authored proposals that won several of the first M&M contracts with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The recipient was a woman-owned small business based in Dallas, where Marla accepted an executive position as marketing director responsible for establishing and managing a brokerage network in 27 states. Before her departure to resume her consulting business in 2003, Marla wrote several professional development courses, including “Successfully Selling HUD Homes.” She has personally taught over 100,000 Realtors® over the years. Listings and sales of HUD properties by the M&M brokers under Marla’s supervision totaled approximately $3 billion annually.

Prior to the HUD engagement, Marla’s company was awarded a prime contract with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to promulgate the policies and procedures for underwriting commercial seller financing that resulted in over $4.2 billion in sales from 1991 to 1995. During that time she conducted or supervised the training of RTC employees, property managers, attorneys, title companies, and commercial brokers nationally. As an ancillary assignment, she spearheaded the sealed bid and auction efforts that sold a portfolio of environmentally-impacted land valued at $640 million from the assets of the RTC’s largest savings and loan institution conservatorship.

Currently Marla is serving Prescient Asset Management, Inc., in marketing, education, outreach, and business development. She has worked extensively for Prescient’s clients, including the U.S. Treasury, HUD, the FDIC, and other entities. She is a founding member of Women in Default Services and the curriculum developer and senior instructor for DSUniversity.com, the resource for the prestigious Certified Default Services Professional (CDSP™) designation.

CCIM = Certified Commercial-Investment Member - 1987

ALC = Accredited Land Consultant, Realtors® Land Institute - 1991

CDEI = Certified Distant Education Instructor of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) - 2005

CDSP™ = Certified Default Services Professional of DSUniversity.com - 2006