Blend hires Srini Venkatramani to lead product and technology growth

San Francisco-based mortgage software development company Blend Labs announced Tuesday that it’s hiring Srini Venkatramani as head of product, technology and customer operations.

Venkatramani joins Blend after the company’s profitable third-quarter 2024 performance. The technology leader brings 23 years of experience, including a recent role as chief product and technology officer at PlanSource. He will focus on implementing Blend’s product vision, technology strategy and operational efficiency initiatives.

He expressed excitement about joining the company and adopting its customer-focused, innovative approach to technology development.

“I’m excited to join Blend and support its mission to bring simplicity and transparency to digital banking,” Venkatramani said in a statement. “Blend’s culture is obsessively customer-centric, and it clearly radiates through the team’s passion for building impactful technology. I look forward to contributing my expertise and taking Blend into its next phase of growth as the industry’s most digitally-robust, efficient, and powerful origination platform.”

“With his leadership experience in product and technology and a track record of driving value creation for SaaS businesses, Srini will be invaluable as we continue our evolution into a platform-first company,” Blend CEO and co-founder Nima Ghamsari said in a statement.

Venkatramani’s experience spans three continents, Blend noted. The technology leader previously worked for companies that boasted between $35 million and $80 million in annual revenue. His five-year tenure at PlanSource resulted in the development and launch of a “multi-year product and operational strategy,” Blend said. Before that, he served as a senior executive at IBM.

The new executive will replace Erik Wrobel, Blend’s previous head of product and a 2024 HousingWire Tech Trendsetter. Wrobel will depart Blend at the end of the year.

This key hire is the latest in Blend’s recent steps for growth. In the third quarter, Blend reportedly signed multiyear deals with customers across its consumer banking and mortgage verticals. Blend also recovered from losses in Q1 and Q2. The company improved its GAAP loss from operations to $13.3 million in Q3 2024, down from a $36.2 million loss in the same quarter last year.

Blend’s total company revenue for Q3 2024 was $45.2 million, divided between the company’s platform ($33.1 million) and title ($12.1 million) segments.