Julie Acuff

Northeast Regional Manager, Wells Fargo Trade Capital

40 Under 40 Category: Portfolio Management

Biography:

Julie Acuff is the northeast regional manager for Wells Fargo Trade Capital, the consumer products and retail division of Wells Fargo Capital Finance’s Commercial Services Group, which specializes in factoring and accounts receivable management.  Based in New York, Julie oversees all of the division’s lending and factoring activities in the Northeast and is responsible for client relationships, portfolio quality, the region’s overall profitability, and office management. 

Julie joined Wells Fargo Capital Finance in 2012 as an underwriting manager for Commercial Services, responsible for all of Trade Capital’s underwriting activities throughout the country.  Julie immediately became a key contributor and valuable resource for the entire Commercial Services team.  In 2014, Julie was a recipient of Wells Fargo’s Golden Spoke Award, the highest honor of Wells Fargo Wholesale Banking, which is awarded to less than 1% of Wells Fargo Wholesale team members.  Due to her leadership and business acumen, she was promoted into her current position in January 2016.

Julie plays a key role in the training of financial analysts in the Commercial Services’ training program and is an advocate for the continuous development of team members.  She is actively involved with Capital Finance’s mentoring program, serving as a formal mentor for team members across the organization as well as an informal mentor to many that naturally seek her out for guidance and support.   

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Julie was the northeast underwriting manager at The CIT Group/Commercial Services.   She started at CIT as a marketing intern and, shortly thereafter, entered into CIT’s Management Training Program where she spent time working as a collateral analyst, field examiner and assistant account executive.  Upon completion of the program, Julie became an account executive, managing a portfolio of clients before moving on to become an underwriter in 2006.  In 2010, she was promoted to Northeast underwriting manager in addition to taking on the responsibility of managing the regional Trade Finance Analyst Program, the successor to the Management Training Program where she started her career in finance.  

Julie grew up in the Pacific Northwest outside of Seattle, WA.  She was a presidential scholar as well as a scholarship athlete at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business management. Julie is a member of Duns Scotus Honor Society.   She continued her education at Long Island University, earning her master degree in business administration and finance.  

Julie is a member of the Commercial Finance Association and several credit clubs.  Outside of her career with Wells Fargo, Julie enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, attending sporting events, and playing beach volleyball.

When informed she had been chosen as one of SFNet’s 40 Under 40, Julie said: “There are so many talented individuals in the industry that it is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the SFNet’s inaugural top 40 under 40.   Looking back on my career is a reminder to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you and learn from those around you, as you never know what doors they may open.  I started in the industry as an intern with no expectation that the internship would lead into the career I have today.  I have been extremely fortunate throughout my career to work under and learn from leaders within the industry and am thankful for their mentorship and guidance.”     

Her nominator, Kevin J. Gillespie, executive vice president, Wells Fargo Capital Finance/Commercial Services Group, said, “Julie has been an integral member of my team for 13 years; first at The CIT Group and most recently as the Northeast Regional Manager at Wells Fargo Trade Capital.  I have watched her grow from a management credit associate to the leader of one of the largest regions in all of U.S. factoring.  I admire Julie for her integrity, compassion, leadership, teamwork and her willingness to mentor and develop her team.”