The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association for the land title insurance industry, announced today the appointment of Michelle Korsmo as Chief Executive Officer.

Korsmo has been serving as Chief Operating Officer for ALTA. She joined ALTA in 2008 when she was named senior vice president, marketing and member programs. Since coming to ALTA, Korsmo has helped guide the association to record membership and revenues, while increasing contributions to the Title Insurance Political Action Committee.

“As we have seen with the foreclosure crisis, title insurance plays an important role in protecting homebuyers, and I am honored to have been selected to lead an association for an industry that plays such a vital role in the home buying process,” Korsmo said. “With record membership and financial stability, ALTA is well positioned to represent the land title insurance industry in a time when the real estate market remains fragile. I look forward to building upon our strong foundation and continuing to improve our deliverables to members in the industry.”

Prior to joining ALTA, Korsmo was the executive vice president of the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Foundation, where she managed a team of 52 people and a $10 million budget, and grew the organization from one state chapter to 21 in four years. She helped build the foundation's grassroots capability to promote solution-oriented policy to local, state and federal government. Before that, Korsmo served three years as deputy chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, where she managed non-political agency heads, served as a member of the budget committee, exercised approval authority on all Departmental action to be published in the Federal Register, and developed an outreach program to the non-profit community.

"Michelle's strategic vision and management skills, paired with ALTA’s professional staff, ensure the association is on the right track to build on its legacy," said Anne Anastasi, ALTA’s President. "I am delighted to have Michelle leading ALTA.  She was a unanimous selection by the Board and we expect Michelle’s leadership will immediately benefit our members, demonstrate our value to prospective members and continue ALTA’s tradition of strong advocacy on behalf of the title industry."