What do female mortgage leaders have in common?

Wink-Davies (pictured), an Elite Women 2022 awardee, joined Mortgage Professional America in an exclusive interview, sharing her take on feminine vs. masculine leadership styles and providing valuable advice to women who want to step up into leadership roles.

MPA: Can you tell us about your mortgage journey? How did you come into the industry?

Julie Wink-Davis: I started with Sears Credit Central and then moved to the collections department of a mortgage company when I was in college. After some management leadership training, I knew the role at the time was a perfect fit – even though I didn’t know much about the mortgage industry.

I eventually became an office manager and account executive for legacy DataFacts Lending Solutions in 1995. And as the company grew, my position grew. I moved from the Little Rock, Arkansas office to  Nashville to build the business in that area. In 2005, my partner and I took DataFacts over from a silent owner, with me owning 25% of the business and my partner owning 75%. At that time, technology was beginning to change the world – and we knew to continue to grow and accomplish all that we wanted, we needed to have control over our future.

DataFacts Lending Solutions instantly became a 100% women-owned background screening and lending solutions company. I eventually became president and led the lending solutions division. From 2005 to 2021, my main focus was on building the division for possible future acquisition. To accomplish this, I oversaw the purchase and subsequent integrations of two companies which, in turn, made DataFacts Lending Solutions a better acquisition candidate.