Danielle Baldinelli

Director - Retail Finance Division, Wells Fargo Capital Finance

40 Under 40 Category: Portfolio Management

Biography:

Danielle Baldinelli is a director with Wells Fargo Capital Finance’s Retail Finance Division.  Based in Boston, the Retail Finance Division provides asset-based credit facilities that are tailored to meet the needs of retail companies.  She has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, with 12 years spent working with retailers managing a variety of complex financing solutions.

In 2005, Danielle began her career with Wells Fargo and has held multiple positions of increasing responsibility.  In her current role, as a loan portfolio manager, Danielle oversees a portfolio of agented transactions with global commitments totaling approximately $4 billion.  Danielle is involved in all
aspects of structuring asset-based and term-loan solutions for her clients.  She is responsible for managing risk through the entire credit life cycle;
underwriting, due diligence, credit memorandums, negotiation of legal documentation and independently restructuring troubled credits. 
Additionally, Danielle oversees a team of credit analysts and is a strong advocate for their training and development. 

Danielle earned an undergraduate degree in finance from John Carroll
University and holds a Master’s degree in finance from Northeastern University.

Danielle resides in Hanover, MA, with her husband Scott and two children.

What role has mentoring played in your career?

I’ve had the privilege of working with many great mentors throughout my career, both within and outside of the commercial lending industry.  This business is not taught in a classroom or from a text book, but learned through “on the job training,” with coaching from influential mentors.  Early in my career, the credit cycle shifted and a significant number of my portfolio customers experienced distress.  This was an important learning period for me, and my mentors invested time and energy teaching me how to work through this new set of challenges and the importance of developing productive relationships with our customers during these difficult times, which ultimately led to restructuring events.  During that economic downturn, I quickly learned the uniqueness of each of these situations, and the experience I gained from handling these tasks, allowed me to better serve my customers, perform at a higher level in my role at Wells Fargo, and better manage future challenges.  I worked with customers, colleagues and senior leaders within Wells Fargo, and other industry professionals who collectively provided me this valuable “on the job training.”  The coaching and mentoring I benefited from during this period in my career was critical in helping me become an effective lender.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started your career?

Focus on building a strong network, both internally and externally.  Rarely do any of us succeed professionally on our own; we rely on advocates and mentors to help shape our careers along the way.  Once you’ve nurtured and developed an effective network, it is critical to maintain these relationships and actively seek out feedback and advice.  This, more than anything, will serve as a great resource to help navigate through any obstacles you may encounter professionally.  

What is the best professional advice you have been given and how have you implemented it?

Don’t hesitate to recommend a solution and make a decision.  In our professional careers, we interact with senior members of our respective organizations to resolve problems.  When these situations arise, collect the facts, develop a recommendation and be prepared to support the “why” behind your recommendation.  Yes, this involves taking a risk because, ultimately, you could be wrong; however, chances are, if you are making informed recommendations, there’s a high likelihood you’ll be right.  All senior leaders are tasked with making decisions and most find it refreshing and a sign of leadership potential if you’re confident enough to put forth well-thought-out solutions.