Leadership Team

ASHLEY

PATTEN

Founder/Attorney

Ashley Patten is an industry-renowned professional known for his constant innovation, unwavering integrity, and honest dealings. Born in New Orleans, Patten graduated from Loyola Law School in 1998 and sat for the Louisiana and Texas Bar examinations in 1999. After passing both exams, he joined forces with his law school roommate that had recently founded a fee attorney office. After years of success and multiple locations opened, the partners transitioned into separate companies in 2007, with Patten as sole owner of the Austin and Houston offices.

During the onset of the 2008 recession and mortgage meltdown, Patten switched gears and focused on new market niches, thereby expanding and diversifying his business during a time when many companies were failing. After years of double-digit growth, Patten decided to transition from a fee office to a full-service title company. On April 1, 2019, Patten Law Firm officially became Patten Title Company, and to this day continues to grow and service across the state of Texas.

Outside of work, Patten loves being involved in the community, spending time with his wife, Nicki, their newborn son, James, and his French Bulldog, Gus.

ASHLEY

PATTEN

Founder/Attorney

ERIC

FONTANOT

President

A proud native Houstonian, Eric Fontanot, earned his B.S. Degree from the University of Houston in 2004. Drawn to the world of real estate, he entered the field as a loan officer within the title industry where he managed an upstart fee attorney operation. This would ignite a passion for orchestrating and managing small business operations and their owners.

Experienced in seasonal scaling and knowledgeable of creative ways to stimulate the flow of business, Eric joined forces with Ashley Patten and the Patten Law Firm in May of 2008. Here, he served as the Houston Area Manager, allowing his passion for facilitation and integration to flourish. Achieving the highest transactional volume offices in the state of Texas, Eric expanded operations to the Dallas market. Now sitting as President of Patten Title Company, Eric is focused on implementing strategies to create large scale growth and sustainability for Patten’s ever-increasing team.

In 2022, Eric was honored with a prestigious seat on Westcor Land Title Insurance Company’s Business Advisory Council.

ERIC

FONTANOT

President

BRIAN

ADAIR

Vice President, Escrow Operations

Brian Adair, a native Texan, began his career in the title industry, being recruited shortly after college to Patten Law Firm as an escrow assistant. Keen on executing extreme efficiency while multitasking, Brian quickly rose through the ranks, earning his license as an escrow officer in 2003. By 2005, he was promoted to the branch manager, where in just eight months, he turned a struggling office into the largest regional operation in Texas. He was then promoted to Austin Area Manager in 2006, and again reworked a struggling operation, helping it to become the highest premium earning branch company-wide.

With the transition to Patten Title Company, Brian was nominated as VP of Escrow Operations. This would allow him to take on the challenge of vetting, customizing, and implementing new operational software, organizing escrow team structures, vendor management and much more, all of which have played crucial roles in Patten Title’s success.

BRIAN

ADAIR

Vice President, Escrow Operations

TIFFANY

STILLWELL

Vice President, Marketing

Vice President of Marketing, Tiffany Stillwell, is responsible for developing, implementing and executing strategic marketing plans for the entire organization. Also, a member of the Patten Title Executive Leadership Team, she loves connecting with team members and clients while fostering Patten’s special culture and energy.

At the start of her career, holding a Bachelor’s of Business Management from the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business, Tiffany joined IBM as a Sales Executive, where she accomplished an 800% revenue increase, resulting in her promotion to Vice President.

In 2002, Tiffany joined the Chicago Title sales team and earned membership in the “Million Dollar Club” and was a “President’s Club” award recipient. She would then join Patten Law Firm in 2005, leading the sales and marketing team, before then gaining her current position following the company’s transition to Patten Title Company.

TIFFANY

STILLWELL

Vice President, Marketing

PATRICK

HURST

Vice President, Sales

As our VP of Sales, Patrick Hurst is responsible for leading the team that drives all sales for Patten Title Company. In doing so, his focus is on targeted and specific growth across various channels while at the same time driving the sales strategy and market development. Additionally, he has helped lead the ongoing advances in technology and client interaction, improving all interfacing within our customer base.

As in every area of his role, he is tireless in his pursuit to strengthen Patten Title Company’s relationships with key individuals and companies, frequently speaking and training, showcasing his specialization in forming exceptionally strong bonds. Alongside this, Patrick brings to the position a successful track record of more than 20 years that includes recognized sales achievements in the Title and Insurance industries. Also, with a culturally diverse background and a love of travel, he is proudly fluent in 3 languages.

PATRICK

HURST

Vice President, Sales

ALLEN

BERRYMAN

CFO

Allen Berryman has approximately 40 years of accounting, financial and operational experience with various organizations including small, privately held entrepreneurial companies and large Fortune 500 organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and is a Certified Public Accountant. Utilizing his academic and professional background, he currently serves as sits as Patten Title’s Chief Financial Officer.

Previously, he held the same title with Stewart Information Services Company, and also has 12 years’ experience with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. While with one of the world’s largest providers of early clinical trial and bioanalytical laboratory services, Cetero Research, he served as head of finance. He would also spend 12 years in the electronic payments industry, holding CFO, COO, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer positions with Retriever Payment Systems, TeleCheck International and First Data Corporation, all of which allowed for Allen’s current highly valued skills and attributes.

ALLEN

BERRYMAN

CFO