Built By Senior Executives
Bob Kaestner
Founder & CEO
Bob Kaestner
Founder & CEO
Bob brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in residential mortgage banking and financial services to Links. Throughout his career, he has built high-performing lending teams, developed differentiated portfolio lending strategies, and expanded mortgage platforms within national, regional, and community banking organizations, including Bank of America, M&T Bank, and Wachovia.
His experience spans loan origination, portfolio lending, and strategic partnership development, with a focus on aligning capital with scalable mortgage production.
Bob founded Links Mortgages to bridge the gap between portfolio lenders and top-performing mortgage brokers, creating a platform that expands product distribution and puts bank capital to work without adding fixed cost. Links Advisory grew from the same work, helping institutions find where structure, capital, and production are out of alignment.
The name Links is intentional. Bob has competed at the highest levels of amateur golf for more than four decades, including the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont and the British Amateur at Muirfield, and he brings the same discipline and long-game patience to every client relationship.
Gene Morris
Mortgage Strategy & Capital Markets
Gene brings more than 30 years of senior banking and mortgage leadership experience to Links Mortgages, with a track record of building strategic partnerships and scalable growth platforms.
During a 27-year career at Bank of America, he held national leadership roles overseeing mortgage production across all consumer-direct channels, including commissioned loan officers, branch banking, online, and call-center originations, helping drive annual production exceeding $100 billion. He also led strategic alliances with national real estate companies and helped deliver mortgage solutions through one of the largest sales organizations in the industry.
After Bank of America, Gene served as Eastern Division EVP for a national mortgage company operating joint ventures with leading real estate brands and later co-founded a residential real estate investment firm.
At Links Mortgages, he focuses on aligning banks, brokers, and strategic partners to drive profitable and sustainable growth.
Reid Pollard
Bank Strategy & Executive Advisory
Reid brings more than three decades of executive leadership in community and regional banking to Links Mortgages. Over a 47-year career, he served as President and CEO of two banks, where he built disciplined lending organizations, strengthened balance sheets, and guided institutions through complex growth and recovery cycles.
He successfully led three troubled banks back to sound financial condition and full regulatory compliance, demonstrating steady leadership and deep credit expertise.
Reid also served six years as a Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, representing North Carolina banks and supporting mortgage liquidity and housing finance initiatives.
At Links Mortgages, Reid contributes strategic insight and operational rigor helping align lending institutions and partners to support strong, sustainable growth and profitability
Renée Tobias
Organizational Strategy & Leadership
Renée brings more than 35 years of chief executive and senior leadership experience in corporate strategy, governance, and organizational change to Links. She is President and CEO of Associates Consulting Group, where she works with boards, owners, and executive teams on leadership transitions, organizational design, and aligning structure and people with strategy.
Her work centers on privately held and family-owned companies at points of change: a new chief executive, a generational handoff, or growth that has outpaced the organization built to support it.
Renée holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Harvard University Extension School, and has pursued doctoral studies in organizational psychology.
At Links Advisory, she leads the organizational advisory practice, pairing her work on leadership and structure with the operating and financial analysis Links brings to every engagement.