Rick Thornberry
Chief Executive Officer
Rick Thornberry is chief executive officer of Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN). Headquartered in Wayne, Radian provides private mortgage insurance and products and services to the mortgage and real estate industries. Radian is one of the largest private mortgage insurers of U.S. residential mortgages, and its real estate services segment is a leader in each of its industries.
Rick has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, as a leader of some of the most innovative mortgage industry businesses. Prior to joining Radian, he co-founded NexSpring Group, LLC in 2006, a firm to partner with and advise leading private equity firms related to potential financial services M&A transactions. The firm was later expanded to provide mortgage industry advisory and technology services to mortgage lenders, financial institutions, mortgage investors and other mortgage industry service providers. Rick was also co-founder of NexSpring Financial, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NexSpring Group, which is a fintech business focused on improving the overall value proposition for all participants in a residential mortgage origination transaction. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of both companies until February 2017.
During the financial crisis, he served as a senior advisor to the financial institution investment team at a leading private equity firm. Prior to founding NexSpring, Rick teamed up with KKR, a global investment firm, to co-found and launch Nexstar Financial Corporation, Inc., a leading end-to-end mortgage business process outsourcing firm. Under his leadership, Nexstar was recognized as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies and was acquired by MBNA. Prior to Nexstar, Rick was the president and chief operating officer of Citicorp Mortgage Inc., and he also held executive-level financial and operating positions at Residential Services Corporation of America/Prudential Home Mortgage Company, including as chief financial officer, until the company was sold in 1996. Rick began his career as a certified public accountant at Deloitte where he primarily worked with financial services clients and entrepreneurial businesses.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from St. Louis University.