Proper Title, LLC, a full-service title insurance firm serving the residential and commercial real estate industry, has announced the expansion of its commercial and residential title services through six strategic hires.
The firm has added Michael J. Stump as assistant vice president of commercial business development, Gary Irwin as senior commercial underwriting consultant & counsel, Charity Murow as senior underwriting counsel, Michele Clement as director of title operations, Adrienne Sutton as director of post-closing and settlement services, and Cheryl Nutley as a senior escrow officer. The addition of these seasoned title professionals supports Proper Title’s plan to continue increasing its market share in the title industry throughout the Chicago area and beyond.
“With today’s heated housing market still in full swing, this all-star group brings a wealth of experience that will help us meet the surge in closings we’ve seen over the past year,” said Kathy Kwak, executive vice president of operations and counsel for Proper Title. “These hires also will be key as we plan to ramp up across our target markets and support our goal of providing excellent client service as our team continues its robust growth.”
Prior to joining Proper Title, Stump was the top sales representative at First American Title, where he grew market share in his territory by 150% in a three-year period. He will play a key role in growing Proper Title’s customer base and revenue in closing commercial real estate transactions.
Murow was most recently an underwriting counsel at First American Title. She has also been a senior claims counsel for Fidelity National Title and an underwriting counsel for Chicago Title. She brings creative solutions to balancing internal risk and client satisfaction during real estate transactions and is responsible for analyzing transactions to determine potential company liability and insurability.
Irwin is a 30-plus-year veteran of the title insurance industry. Prior to joining Proper Title, he had been with Fidelity National Title for nearly 18 years, where he most recently served as assistant vice president and state counsel, examining and underwriting high liability commercial and residential developments as well as referring and coordinating with attorneys on 1031 exchanges.
Clement and Sutton come to Proper Title following decades of work at Fidelity National Title. Clement’s previous role was assistant vice president and Northern Cook County escrow manager, overseeing more than 20 employees and the escrow process for more than 600 residential and commercial closings per month. Sutton was an escrow closer at Fidelity National’s Schaumburg office and has expertise in complex residential and commercial transactions; closing bulk and double escrow transactions; and mobile closings at attorney offices, as well as AVON closings.
Previously with Chicago Title, Nutley has 25 years of residential and commercial title experience.
“Since Proper Title’s launch in 2013, we’ve been known for drawing top talent from within the title industry and that certainly is the case with these new hires,” said Kwak. “It’s just one of the reasons we have become one of the largest title agencies in Illinois.”
Shortly after its founding, Proper Title established offices in Chicago’s Loop, Bucktown and Irving Park neighborhoods as well as north and northwest suburbs, including Northbrook, Libertyville, Palatine and Park Ridge. Three years ago, Proper Title expanded to the western suburbs with an office in Oak Brook followed by locations in St. Charles and Naperville. Last month, the title company opened an Orland Park office to serve the south suburbs. The firm also offers remote closings to attorney clients.
Proper Title is the No. 1 issuing agent in Illinois for Fidelity National Finance (FNF) Family of Companies and has earned the FNF Excellence in Action award for six consecutive years. It was also named a Crain’s Chicago Business “Best Places to Work” in 2019 and 2020.
