Kiavi aims to strengthen construction lending with two executive hires

Pittsburgh-based lender Kiavi on Monday announced the hirings of Tom Hallock and Robert Jayne as the company seeks to grow its construction financing segment to better meet the needs of real estate investors.

Hallock was named as Kiavi‘s new head of construction lending while Jayne was appointed as head of originations for construction lending.

Hallock has decades of prior experience in construction financing and real estate investment lending. He previously served as chief lending officer for DPL Capital and Genesis Capital, along with a stint at PeerStreet as head of loan products.

At Kiavi, he will be responsible for oversight of its construction lending vertical — including product ownership, team oversight and growth strategies.

Jayne has 20-plus of experience in construction finance. His most recent role was with Archwest Capital, where he served as head of national business development. Jayne also was the chief construction officer for Genesis Capital and works in residential real estate development, having founded a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in unique and historic renovation projects.

Jayne’s role at Kiavi will focus on growth initiatives for the company’s construction lending vertical.

“We are delighted to welcome proven industry veterans Tom and Robert to the Kiavi team to take our ground-up construction product to the next level,” CEO Arvind Mohan said in a a statement. “Both Tom and Robert have deep expertise in the construction financing space and are proven leaders, bringing the drive and strategic vision needed to fuel Kiavi’s next chapter of growth.

“We look forward to putting Kiavi’s technology platform, AI/ML models, and data advantage to work in serving even more real estate investors and developers, helping them move faster, build smarter, and create much-needed new housing units to combat the housing shortage nationwide,” he added.

In a press release, Kiavi explained that its construction lending product offers “competitively priced, transparent, and reliable capital to real estate developers looking to rebuild outdated houses or build new homes on vacant lots.” It seeks to accomplish this through automated processes and simplified documents, and by helping clients make “smarter investment decisions” through data on after-repair values and investment returns.

The company also reported a record $3.9 billion in originations during the first half of 2025, up 30% year over year. It claims to be the first private lender to fund 100,000 loans to real estate investors.

In February, Kiavi announced its expansion into 13 additional states, broadening its overall availability to 45 states and the District of Columbia. It has also closed multiple securitizations of residential transition loans (RTLs) since the start of 2024.