Kathleen Davenport

Director, Senior ABL Underwriter, Wells Fargo Capital Finance

40 Under 40 Category: Underwriting

Biography:

Kathleen Davenport is a director and senior asset-based lending underwriter at Wells Fargo Capital Finance where she leads all aspects of the underwriting process including the structuring, negotiation and documentation of asset-based facilities ranging from $10-to-$500 million.  She has been with Wells Fargo for over 11 years, working in the New York City and Los Angeles markets in a variety of roles including cash flow lending to large corporate clients, cross-sell and asset-based lending. Kathleen is currently a council member for the Wells Fargo Capital Finance Diversity Council. She received her B.S. in business, marketing and finance from Saint Louis University with magna cum laude distinction. She is married and has two daughters under the age of three.  Outside of work, Kathleen enjoys volunteering, watching college football, and reading.  She is originally from Omaha, Nebraska. 

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

It’s not enough to simply put your head down and focus on execution. You must also put equal effort towards developing and strengthening working relationships. People want to work with those who get the job done and those who are also fun and engaging. Don’t be afraid to give them both. 

What role has mentoring played in your career?

Mentoring continues to play a critical role in my professional development and career.  For instance, my mentors taught me the art of “polling the crowd” before making important decisions. Doing so gives me valuable insights and creates buy-in with my partners.  I am intentional in connecting with my mentors, both personally and professionally, so that they understand my values, priorities and aspirations.  They, in turn, are better prepared to challenge, inspire and encourage me.  I’m lucky to say that my mentors include a mix of colleagues, managers, best friends and even family members. They provide me with courage, confidence and additional vantage points to consider. I am particularly thankful for the mentor relationships that I have had over the past 11 years at Wells Fargo– it is a testament to the quality of people and leadership at the organization. It’s amazing to me the number of people that I worked with very early in my career that have shown up in different stages of my career.  Wells Fargo is one of those places where the people truly do make it special. I aspire to “pay it forward” as so many at my organization have done for me.

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

While my Mom was the one with the corporate finance job and was a role model by her actions, it was my Dad who has provided so many great life lessons that have translated into practical professional advice.  My top three are:

First, don’t be afraid to be loyal. My Dad worked for the same consumer product company for 35 years.  Growing up (and still to this day) there is only one brand of cereal allowed in their house. My Dad’s commitment to his job, the company and the brand is a powerful example of loyalty. I aspire to show loyalty in key aspects of my career.

Second, use your resources. When we didn’t know what a word meant or how to spell a word, my Dad would make us look it up in the dictionary. Every single time. My parents’ dictionary was huge-- it had the thinnest pages with tiny font and often, it took a while to find the answer (especially when you didn’t know how to spell the word!).  Now I appreciate the early lesson of developing the skill of being resourceful.

Third, do your best (for your teammates too!). My brother and I played a lot of sports growing up.  Despite my parents both working, they showed up to every game with a few quick and fast rules: give it your all, be a good teammate and be a good sport. “If we “gassed it” on the field and didn’t try our best (as my Dad called it), my Dad would quickly remind us how lucky we were to have the opportunity at all and how our team was relying on us. The rules my parents had for sports translate well for the professional setting and I constantly strive to perform at a high level in order to not let my team down.