Our Leadership & Supporting Rockstars

David Philipp has more than 30 years of financial management experience in several industries, including technology, financial services and retail. Prior to joining Mother Lode Holding Company and Placer Title Company, he provided financial management and investment banking services to emerging technology companies and was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a supply-chain technology company from 1999 to 2001.

From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Philipp served as Executive Vice President, CFO and Secretary of a publicly held bank holding company headquartered in Central California, where he has also been a member of the Board of Directors since 1999. Mr. Philipp has also held positions as budget director and financial analyst for a national jewelry retailer and was employed by a global accounting and consulting firm.

Darrell Martin joined Mother Lode Holding Company in 2015 as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the company and all of its subsidiaries. Mr. Martin became Mother Lode Holding Company’s General Counsel, Secretary and Executive Vice President in 2018, and provides all legal services for the company and its subsidiaries.

Mr. Martin is a native of the greater Sacramento area and graduated with distinction in 1997 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Martin began his legal career as a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County, and after leaving the District Attorney’s Office, spent the next 15 years in civil practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining Mother Lode, Mr. Martin was the managing partner of a private firm where he practiced for nearly a decade in real estate and title insurance litigation representing the title and escrow industry, including Mother Lode and its subsidiaries.

Mr. Martin currently serves on the Board of Governors for the California Land Title Association, as well as its Forms and Practices Committee.

Christie Garcia oversees the development & implementation of marketing for the Mother Lode brand of companies. She leads a team of designers who work closely together to produce creative content for all MLHC divisions covering a variety of different mediums. With degrees in both Business Administration (Marketing Management) & Graphic Communications, she provides a unique perspective in delivering well-executed marketing strategies. She's a sucker for good corporate branding and loves typography.

In her free time, Christie enjoys working as a stationery designer through the Minted community of independent artists. She loves digital illustration and doodling on her iPad. When she's not designing, she spends her time obsessing over her next house project. Christie lives in Sacramento with her husband and is a proud mama to their 2 children, both in college.

Rebekah brings 20+ years of Title and Escrow experience to her role at MLHC. After various roles within the Title industry, in 2016 she had the opportunity to join a new MLHC division, TNT. During this time she was able to work closely with the MLHC support staff to setup TNT for a successful 2017 launch. At TNT she was the VP of Operations and led their Shared Services team along with the Title Plant. In 2020 Rebekah transitioned into the MLHC team as the Director of Training and Education. During her career she has learned the importance of empowering people through training with the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of the Title industry.

In her free time, Rebekah enjoys spending time with her kiddos, husband, and mostly her dog Samosa. She’s also the self-designated party planner/designer for her friends and family. She is always on the hunt for vintage cake stands, dishes, and anything brass.

Ben White leads the MLHC ResWare admin team, which supports the software used by every title and escrow branch in our family. Additionally, he oversees the MLHC software development team and MLHC’s software company, Title Tech.

Ben has been in the title and escrow industry since 2003 and knows and understands first-hand the challenges that title and escrow teams face. He joined MLHC in 2008 and transitioned from title and escrow to his current role in Information Technology in 2013. As a leader in his division, he and his team continuously work hard to develop tools for success for all staff in the MLHC family of companies. His unique experience and knowledge in the operations of a title and escrow company in addition to his background in computer science have made him a great resource to the organization.

After earning his MS in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento in 2016, Ben continued to pursue academics as a part-time college lecturer, teaching computer science to students at Sac State through early 2020. His research in secure software development and coding has been published by the International Journal of Information Privacy, Security and Integrity. In his free time, you will find him baking bread, making wine, tending to his garden, playing with his three cats and making travel plans.

Marsha Spence has over 40 years of experience in the title and escrow industry, proudly serving Placer Title Company since 1977. With extensive experience on all sides of title and escrow, Ms. Spence has served as an Escrow Officer, Branch Manager, County Manager and was appointed President of Mother Lode Holding Company in 1997. She became CEO of Mother Lode Holding Company in 2001, and Chairman/CEO from 2006-2021. Ms. Spence also served on the California Land Title Association Board of Governors, most recently as President of the Board from 2002-2003. She remains as Chairman of the Board of Mother Lode Holding Company today.

Jim Johnston has over 39 years of experience in the title and escrow industry, and has been a proud member of Placer Title Company since 1983. Mr. Johnston has held numerous positions during his tenure at PTC, including President of El Dorado County, Sacramento and Yuba-Sutter Counties. From 1987 through 1992, Mr. Johnston served as the Regional Vice President of County Operations. In 2002 he was appointed President of PTC and President of MLHC in 2005. Mr. Johnston retired as President in 2021 and remains as vice chairman of the board.