Our Team

Guidance Residential's expert leadership and management team brings over 100 years of collective experience in the industry we serve.

Kal Elsayed

President & CEO

Kal Elsayed, based in Reston, Va., is president and CEO of Guidance Residential where he has overall responsibility for the management and performance of the company. He is a leading U.S. home finance industry executive with broad national experience in all aspects of the business, including sales and operations. He is an accomplished leader in start-up and high-growth business environments and has extensive experience in building motivated teams to achieve and exceed target objectives. He was previously president and CEO of HomeView Lending, where he helped start the company and build its sales and operating structure. Prior to HomeView, he held various executive positions with New Century Mortgage Corp, culminating in the position of President of the Wholesale Division, where he assumed full P&L responsibility and grew annual production from US $4 billion to US $46 billion over a three-year period. NMLS# 26161

Kal Elsayed

President & CEO

Nick Minardi

Executive Vice PresidentChief Operating Officer

Nick Minardi is the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer for Guidance Residential. He initially joined the company in 2011 and has formally acted as its Chief Operations Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. With over 30 years of banking and mortgage industry experience, he oversees and seeks to continually improve our secondary, capital markets, servicing, and finance activity. NMLS# 12494

Nick Minardi

Executive Vice PresidentChief Operating Officer

Nancy Whipp

Senior Vice PresidentChief Financial Officer

Nancy Whipp is the Chief Financial Officer of Guidance Residential. She has 30 years of financial management and auditing experience with 20 years focused in the financial services space and over five years serving as CFO for national independent mortgage lenders. She leads the overall financial management of the company, including accounting, financial reporting, secondary marketing, planning and analysis, and treasury.
Earlier in her career, she established and grew her own CFO advisory and financial consulting practice, serving a diverse base of clients in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Florida Fisher School of Accounting and is a certified public accountant in the state of Virginia.

Nancy Whipp

Senior Vice PresidentChief Financial Officer

Hussam Qutub

Senior Vice PresidentNational Sales Manager

Hussam Qutub is the Senior Vice President, National Sales Manager for Guidance Residential. Hussam joined Guidance in March 2003 and has served in a variety of Senior and Executive Management roles. His past responsibilities included vice president of Marketing and Communications, where he played a significant role in the company's first ten years of geographic expansion and was instrumental in establishing our brand. Hussam's most recent role was that of President of Guidance Home Services LLC, Guidance Residential's sister company. Before embarking on his career with Guidance, he studied international relations at George Mason University. He specializes in leadership and team building, business development, communications management, branding and positioning, public relations, digital marketing and lead generation.

Hussam Qutub

Senior Vice PresidentNational Sales Manager

Suha Anini

Senior Vice PresidentChief Credit Officer

Suha Anini is the senior vice president, chief credit officer at Guidance Residential, a role in which she has served since 2015. She has over 15 years of experience in home finance operations and management and has been instrumental in training staff on how to increase productivity and efficiency using technology. She has been with Guidance Residential for over 16 years. She served with the company from 2002-2006, and rejoined the organization in 2007. Prior to rejoining the organization, she worked as a senior default underwriter for Freddie Mac. She received a bachelor's degree in information technology and operations management from George Mason University. NMLS# 1389395

Suha Anini

Senior Vice PresidentChief Credit Officer

Thomas Gainor

Senior Vice PresidentChief Legal Counsel

Thomas Gainor has served as the Senior Vice-President, General Counsel for the Company since its inception. Prior to serving with Guidance Residential, he worked for five years with a Kuwait based Islamic Investment Bank focusing on product development and advisory services. Tom started his professional career in 1981 after majoring in accounting at the University of Rhode Island. He is a certified public accountant as well as a licensed lawyer. He earned his J.D. and LL.M. in taxation from the University of Miami School of Law.

Thomas Gainor

Senior Vice PresidentChief Legal Counsel

Riffat Lakhani

Senior Vice PresidentChief Marketing Officer

Riffat Lakhani is the Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Guidance Residential. She oversees all marketing services and activities for the organization, including brand awareness, lead generation and nurturing, social media, events, content creation, graphic design, and general marketing support. Her background is a fusion of graphic design, real estate sales, business, and marketing. Her dedication to excellence and passion for making a difference keeps her focused. She graduated summa cum laude from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design and a minor in business and multimedia. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business. She is a member of AMA.

Riffat Lakhani

Senior Vice PresidentChief Marketing Officer

Matthew Minardi

Vice PresidentChief Technology Officer

Matthew Minardi is the Vice President, Chief Technology Officer for Guidance Residential. He recently joined the company in 2025. With over 30 years of experience managing dynamic environments, he oversees and strives to continually improve technology strategy and vision, talent and team development, and technology operations and infrastructure. NMLS# 2745607

Matthew Minardi

Vice PresidentChief Technology Officer

Salman Ali

Senior Vice PresidentDivision ManagerSouthern Division

Salman Ali is the Division Manager for Corporate Sales and the Southern Division at Guidance Residential. Salman has over 20 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry and has been with Guidance Residential for over 13 years. Salman has a passion for Islamic Financing and enjoys educating others on the subject. Salman is a history enthusiast from Virginia who enjoys collecting and studying historical artifacts. NMLS# 47184

Salman Ali

Senior Vice PresidentDivision ManagerSouthern Division

Abdessamad Melouane

Senior Vice PresidentDivision ManagerNorthern Division

Based in the New York City area, Abdessamad serves as the Division Manager for the Northern Division. Throughout the years, he has established strong relationships with various community leaders, organized numerous educational seminars on Islamic home financing, and has increased overall brand awareness for the company. Abdessamad earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Marrakesh and took various MBA courses in business ethics and finance from Albertus Magnus College. NMLS# 47212

Abdessamad Melouane

Senior Vice PresidentDivision ManagerNorthern Division

Munther Qtaish

Senior Vice PresidentDivision ManagerWestern Division

Based in the Bay Area, CA, Munther Qtaish is the West Coast Division Manager with over 10 years of experience in Islamic finance and 25+ years in sales and management. He has led numerous educational seminars across the West Coast on Islamic home financing, helping to raise awareness of Islamic finance in the U.S. Munther is also dedicated to community service, actively volunteering with various Islamic organizations and serving on masjid boards. NMLS# 1417305