Saenz – Executive VP of Business Development Emerging Markets @ Countrywide.

Countrywide Financial Corporation announced that Rodolfo Saenz has been named executive vice president of business development, emerging markets. In this position, Saenz will be responsible for integrating and coordinating the strategic planning, business development and positioning for Countrywide’s emerging markets efforts across the company’s business units.

Saenz will be in charge of directing marketing programs that target ethnic communities and implementing an emerging markets campaign to attract and retain new relationships. In addition, Saenz will also oversee Countrywide’s strategic plan to promote and enhance fair housing programs, community outreach efforts and affordable loan products.

“Countrywide’s efforts to lower the barriers to homeownership, increase home buyer education and drive down the cost of obtaining a home loan are impressive,” said Saenz. “The company has aggressive goals like the $600 billion challenge to provide home loans to emerging markets and lower income communities by 2010. I am very excited about the opportunity to promote Countrywide’s products and services to under-served communities in mortgage lending, banking, insurance and other financial services.”

Prior to joining Countrywide, Saenz enjoyed a lengthy career with Charles Schwab & Co., where he held a variety of executive and management positions and pioneered marketing programs targeting Hispanic and Asian-American communities. At Charles Schwab, Saenz most recently served as senior vice president of retail client services, where he led an organization of 500 stock brokers. Other positions Saenz held while at Charles Schwab include senior vice president of strategic planning and information; vice president of retail affluent marketing; vice president of emerging markets; and vice president of market research and business analysis.