WEBVTT - From Compton to the C-Suite: The Blueprint for Black Excellence 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.480 Welcome The Money and Wealth with John O'Bryant, a production 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:08.559 of the Black Effect Podcast Network. iHeartRadio Network, and it 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:10.880 is season three. I want to thank you all for 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:14.079 making this one of the top podcasts for business and 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:17.320 entrepreneurship in the country and on every continent around the world. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.280 And for our NAACP nomination. We lost to Michelle Obama, 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:22.919 but I'd be willing to do that any day of 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:27.960 the week. We have talking about amazing women, and we 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.160 don't feature women enough. We want to do more of that, 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.120 and I feature women in my upcoming book on my 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:38.600 book that's out now, that's Capitalism for All. And right today, 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:43.400 we have an amazing woman with us who is also 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:50.479 a good friend. Chrissy Ferko is senior executive vice president 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.840 ed Wells Fargo, which I believe is a Fortune one 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:59.680 hundred company, maybe Fortune and fifty, one of the biggest, 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.680 one of the four biggest banks in the US and 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.480 by extension, one of the ten biggest banks arguably in 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.360 the world when you take out Chinese banks or government 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:16.160 related Now that title I just gave you. And she's 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.399 also head of Financial Inclusion and she's on this is 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:25.280 very important. The operating committee for the bank. Now, for 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:29.160 those who are listening to this in their car while 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.440 they're going on a jog or whatever, in a traditional 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.840 podcast environment where most people are listening to it initially, 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.119 and you won't get around and seeing this on YouTube 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.720 until later or on social let me help you out. 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:48.560 She's black, she's a sister si Sta, and like me, 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:54.600 she's from Compton, California. Can't make the same. So this 0:01:54.760 --> 0:02:00.000 is going to be a really a powerful episode because 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:01.920 we're going to go from Compton to the c suite, 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:08.799 the unlikely journey and what does that take? What does 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:13.799 that involve? How does that what does that require of 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:17.840 someone to be made of the kind of material to 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:20.680 be made of? What kind of material do you need 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:23.760 to make yourself of along the way? How do you 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.399 feel in the gaps? What to do? What to not do? 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:32.320 In that high powered position. Now, I'm going to give 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.520 some backgrounds so you have some context for her. But 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:39.239 people hear vice president at a bank or whatever, or 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:41.320 senior vice president of a bank. Oh, I've seen that before. 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.120 I've seen a business card that had senior vice president 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.160 on it. Yeah, you might have you seen it, might 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.960 have been in your local branch network in Houston. It 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:54.919 might have been in a local market in Miami and 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.359 you might have saw, oh, this person is a vice 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.640 president or a senior vice president. By the way, no 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:02.480 dis expected intended to what I'm about to say to 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.560 those people hold those titles. Locally, that's very important, and 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.760 locally they have enormous authority. What I'm talking about is 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.200 a corporate officer. I'm talking about on the operating committee, 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:17.080 which is where the CEO of the bank Charlie Sharp. 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:21.079 In this example, since I'm talking about again, I repeat 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:28.000 this senior executive vice president. Anybody knows corporate structure. That's 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.600 a big baller, shot caller. That's not an official phrase. 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.880 So let's talk about her prior rode before we getting 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:39.920 the living Christy talk. She's head of home lending. She 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:43.760 was head of home lending for Wells Fargo, leading twenty 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.360 five thousand professionals, so she was basically in charge of 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:50.120 Wells Fargo Mortgage. She was essentially the CEO of Wells 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.640 Fargo Mortgage. Actually, will ask where the title was. I 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.920 wouldn't be surprised if it literally was CEO well Christy. 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:57.800 What was the title with Wells Fargo Mortgage? 0:03:58.120 --> 0:03:59.760 Yeah, the CEO of home Lending. 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.720 I told you big BALLI shot called the asset size 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:07.840 of Wills Fargo Mortgage when you were ceo. 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:14.320 Well, we had one point two trillion in our servicing book. Jesus, 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:19.320 we did eight billion in revenue that year and two 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:21.120 point two billion in that income. 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:23.640 See. See, when you got the power, you don't need 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.080 to need to use it. She she I was all loud, 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.720 like appreaching. She's like, yeah, just eight billion here and 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:32.600 I'm trillion there, and see, she's just so cool. When 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.040 you got the you got the power, you don't need 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:40.080 you She just low key. I want you to Anybody 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:41.840 riding their bicycle listening to this, she might have read 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.360 off the road, I need you. I need to buckle up. 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:49.400 This is a black woman making history and she's nice. 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:54.280 By the way, she's a nice person. She's authentic. So uh, 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:59.000 let me get into a bit more of the backstory, 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.960 and then I'm gonna something I don't typically do. I'm 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:04.200 gonna shut up and give her a couple questions and 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:06.400 let her just rip because she's got a lot to 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.240 share with you and a lot to teach. School is 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:16.400 in session. Backstory, Christy grew up in Compton, California. And 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.400 if you want to doose some research on her. On her, 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.560 it's K not C k R I S t y 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.679 f e r c h O. The H is silent furc. 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:29.880 It took me like twenty years to say fer croperty 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.760 and Christy Ferco. First time I called her Christy with 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:34.920 a C, She's corrected me, it's with a K John 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.280 She's She had no self esteem problem. So Christy grew 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:41.000 up in Common, California, and then moved to where I 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:45.800 grew up, and moved to Tucson, Arizona, a completely two 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:49.720 different worlds uh, and she never stopped traveling after that. 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.760 She mastered what I called code switching before there was 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:56.760 a language for it. She became a finance major who 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:59.880 dreamed of Wall Street. It ended up rewriting with leadership 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:05.839 Financial services looks like for a black woman everywhere. This 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:10.120 episode is not a career retrospective. It's a survival guy. 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:15.200 It's a Swiss army knife for women and anybody who 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.200 is striving. It is a masterclass and how to be 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.760 excellent in any room where no one looks like you, 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.800 and how to use that position not as a burden 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:30.440 but as a platform. I'm going to bring my own 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:35.520 experience to this where I need to layer in context, 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:39.040 maybe telling her a phrase that she mentions that it 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:42.440 needs to be defined, or saying something that she says 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:44.839 very casually, like billion or trillion that needs a little 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.400 bit more emphasis. But other than that, I'm gonna let 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:53.640 her rip. So she is really singular. I think you're 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:57.560 the highest ranking black female certainly at the bank. 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:03.960 I am, and the first ever on the operating committee. 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:09.760 Amen. I have an immense respect for this lady. I 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.320 like her, I admire her, I respect her. We laugh together, 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:17.520 we we scheme together about making the world better. She's 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.320 been a protector at the bank, supporter behind closed doors 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.680 and for me and for others. She when when somebody 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:31.320 like Bishop td Jakes, the great spiritual legend icon in 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.280 the world, when he says he talked to somebody, well, 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.840 Fargo Bank, nine times out of ten is Christy. He 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.760 can get to the CEO. But the CEO really asked 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:43.640 Christy to to do uh, to do the heavy lifting 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.040 really for these relationships, to make them work and bring 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:50.360 and make them real. So here is some context and 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.480 some questions for you. Oh and I guess before we 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.000 get in that we should go a little bit more 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.720 on the backstory you worked also other places you were 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.360 at Fanny May, But tell the audience is a little 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:08.440 bit more about the different roles you played before getting 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.320 to Wells Parget before I say that, by the way, 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.840 thirty years of experience in fincial services industry, even though 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.840 she only looks thirty five black dog crack. She's number 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.680 seventeen on the American Banker Most Powerful Women's list in 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:25.440 twenty twenty four, the first after American Chair of the 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:30.320 Mortgage Bankers Association, and led in her prior role twenty 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:34.120 five thousand team members. Again, that was her prior role. 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:36.640 She's doing much more now, tell us a little bit, 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:38.800 take us a bit back and filling the blanks, Christie, 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:42.880 on your prior corporate roles, I think it included Fannie 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.480 May and PepsiCo. If I'm not respecting mistaken. 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:51.080 Yep, Yeah, so I've Wells Fargo is a fifth company 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:55.320 I worked for. So I started at Baxter Healthcare had 0:08:55.440 --> 0:09:01.560 rules of sales, operations, total quality management back then when 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.800 that was a big thing. Went to Pepsi kind of 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.439 the Fridolay division first, and then ended up at PepsiCo headquarters. 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.320 So I spent about eight and a half years there 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:15.320 at the Pepsi companies. After Pepsi, I went to Fannie 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:18.360 May and spent fifteen years there. The first five was 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.920 in human resources and then got the opportunity to actually 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:25.600 move into the line business at Fanny May. So my 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:28.760 last ten years there was running a P and L 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:34.600 in the line business and L sorry, profit and loss statement, 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.520 So you are a business manager. You're making the decisions 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:43.480 about the business. And then left Fanny May and joined 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:48.560 a regional bank up in Detroit, Michigan called Flagstar and 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.520 went in as the president of the mortgage there. When 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:53.800 I got to Flagstar, they were really and they started 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:58.000 as a mortgage bank that actually bought a savings alone 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.640 to actually have a stable funding source for their mortgages. 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:05.880 And so mortgage was eighty percent of the revenue of 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.480 the bank when I got to Flagstar, and so it 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.959 was really a mortgage bank inside of inside of the bank. 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.320 And then was there for three years and then got 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.360 the call about Wells Fargo. So, as you've already said, 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:22.120 came into Wells Fargo almost six years ago now as 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:25.880 the CEO of the mortgage business. And did that for 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.480 a couple of years, and then got the opportunity to 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:33.560 get promoted onto the operating committee and did a role 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:37.040 with diverse segments, kind of bringing in diverse customers across 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:40.200 our five lines of business, and then for the last 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:43.720 year have been in this financial Inclusion opportunity role. 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.800 My guess is when you got the when you were 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:53.120 at Wells Fargo Mortgage as CEO, you thought, my god, 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.600 I've hit the lottery. Is the top of the of 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.160 the top I've never thought, I mean, this is it. 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.439 I'll never go any that I'll need to. I'm at 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.760 the I mean, I'm at the pinnacle, Am I right? 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:07.080 Yeah? It was well And when I got the call 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:10.440 to for about the Wells Fargo job at Flagstar, the 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.920 Wells Fargo job was ten times the size of the 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:18.600 revenue that I was doing at Fannie may or at Flagstar, 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.320 and it was Yeah, it was a big role. It 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.600 was the number one bank lender and number one servicer 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:29.719 in the country. It was the biggest mortgage job. And 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.240 so yeah, I thought, I thought I'd made it for sure. 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.320 Yeah, And then then the call came to do something 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:38.960 bigger and more pronounced, and you stepped up and stepped 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.240 into that. And we're gonna get into why how in 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.480 a minute, what's a servicer? You mentioned another phrase, people 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:46.120 don't know what's the loan servicer? 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:51.079 Yeah, So when people get a mortgage, it's when they 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:56.559 pay their payments every month. The servicer actually disperses those payments, 0:11:56.679 --> 0:12:03.920 pays taxes, pays your es, bills, and services the mortgage. 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:10.040 Basically, so the mortgage servicer and the mortgage company that 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:18.560 funds alone could be in many cases are different. Correct, absolutely, Okay, 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:25.480 all right, let's go back to Compton, California. Yeah, and 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.760 you know what did money look like growing up? What 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.760 did you see on those corners growing up? And what 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:34.160 did you make of it? Now we're gonna put the 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.720 postcript that I grew up in Compton, and I didn't 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:40.600 see ladies like she's fine. All the pretty girls were 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:44.760 on the down in the stuccle houses. So be real clear, 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.040 it was it was all the pretty girl territory. I 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.280 didn't know where for her dad was hiding. Her dad 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:54.080 was hiding CHRISTI because I'd have been all over on 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.199 a serious how'd you get? How do you become so nice? 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.720 I'm sure that in kind and decent. I'm sure that's 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.600 a parent thing. By the way, Christy is happily married. 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:06.640 So guys back off. But look like at Compton and 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.840 tell that story. What did money look like growing up? 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:11.880 And what do you see on those street corners? 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:17.160 Yeah, I mean it, and it certainly changed over kind 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.760 of my upbringing there. But my dad was a track 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:25.839 coach at Compton High actually, and so that's kind of 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.280 where it started. My mom, you know, was a stay 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.760 at home mom kind of at first. But my parents 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:37.199 got married when my dad was in college, his sophomore 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:40.679 year in college, and so my dad was on scholarship 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:44.120 at San Jose and so scholarship athletes had to live 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.640 in the dorm, and so my mother worked a job 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:51.440 and held it down. My brother was here at the time, 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.920 I wasn't here yet. And then when my dad graduated college, 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.600 they moved back to Compton. My dad got the job 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.840 at Compton High and I was born and so, you know, 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:05.000 growing up on the streets. It evolved over time. I 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.720 think when you're a kid, you don't realize what's the 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:12.000 environment that you're, you know, growing up in. But as 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.360 I grew and got older, a lot of the kids 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.200 that I grew up with that were friends like, started 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:22.640 going to jail, started selling drugs, started being killed, and 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.560 we just had a different path. My father ended up 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.560 getting the track coach job at the University of Arizona. 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:32.920 In fact, he has a distinction of being the first 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:39.600 Division one black head coach ever. And we moved to Tucson, Arizona, 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:43.120 and so it was ninety nine point nine percent black 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.840 to ninety nine nine percent white in Tucson. So my 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.080 life really was you talked about code switching. My life 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.560 really was traversing both of those versus those worlds. But 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:56.480 no matter where I was, it was like, these were 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:58.360 the kids I grew up with. And I think that's 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.240 the beautiful thing about kids. They are resilient. You don't 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.240 realize if you have money or if you don't have money. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:06.440 You don't realize what you have or what you don't have. 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:11.000 I always say all unhappiness is caused by comparison. And 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.640 my parents, Yeah, my parents really didn't let us focus 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.080 on comparison. It was like, what you have is what 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:20.360 you have, be grateful for it. And so grew up 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:24.120 with this mindset of appreciation and gratitude for what you 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:28.080 do have. And never worried about what we didn't have. 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.960 I think it wasn't until later in life. Actually I 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:36.760 went to USC University of Southern California, which was Los Angeles. 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.320 That's when I saw what real money looked like. That's 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:47.280 when I was first aware like, oh, there's kids that 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.600 have things that I do not have. Like my roommate 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:55.120 my freshman year, you know, her father pulled up her 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.280 car and it was a BMW on a flatbed truck. 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.360 Like I did not go to school with a car, 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:03.360 and I didn't have a car my whole four years 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:07.000 of college. That just that wasn't something for us. So 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.440 it wasn't really until I went to college that I 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:13.520 really realized the difference in people with money. Let's go 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:14.960 back money a little bike. 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.720 Yeah, let's go back to conflict for a minute, because 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.440 you had something in complent. You didn't have money. If 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.920 you had wealth, you had wealth of spirit. Who who 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.280 your family told you they loved you, gave you, confidence, 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.160 gave you. Were you a daddy's girl? 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.520 I was a daddy's girl. Yeah, very much. 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:30.640 So. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:31.520 Yeah. 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.200 I think in our family, actually we didn't use the 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:37.440 word I love you in our house, and in fact, 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:40.600 I have no memories growing up of hearing my parents 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:43.160 say that they loved me. It was just a word 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:47.720 that my parents didn't use. And that sounds crazy, but 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:51.000 it wasn't. But we felt very very loved and we 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.480 felt very very secure in that it just the words 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:58.400 weren't spoken, and so we were. We grew up with 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:02.160 this belief that we could do anything that we wanted 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.560 to do, anything that we put our minds to. My 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:08.000 dad used to always say what the mind can perceive, 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.640 the will can achieve, and it was the statement of 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.000 constantly believing that you could do whatever you put your 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:18.240 mind to. It was about hard work, it was about sacrifice, 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.080 It was about you know, doing what you needed to 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.880 do to be successful, that hustle, that grind, and so 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.400 we grew up believing that there wasn't anything that we 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.320 couldn't do if we put our mind to it. We 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.119 worked hard and we believed that we could achieve it, 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.879 and so that was the richness. Obviously, we grew up 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.080 in the church, and so you know, we had a 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:46.520 spiritual grounding and knew where our gifts came from, believed 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.040 that our steps were ordered, and that it was our 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:53.800 job to use the gifts we were given to make 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.280 the world a better place. And so growing up with 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:00.240 that as the upbringing, you just believe that you not 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:04.040 only can do things, but that you're required to do 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:05.879 things to make things better for people. 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:11.159 So fascinating. Your parents didn't physically tell you they loved you, 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:13.960 but somehow you knew it anyway through I guess through 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:15.200 their actions. Right. 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.520 Yeah, we were hugged a lot. Yeah, a lot of 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.480 a lot of affirmation, just not the words I love you. 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.800 And let's put your parents in history, historical record. Let's 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:28.320 say their names, please. 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:33.320 Yes, Willy, Willie and Margaret Williams. 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.639 Thank you Willy and Margaret Williams. You did a good job. 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:42.920 You had to not transition, you had to transplant yourself 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.000 from a black world to a white one. You just 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.960 mentioned that earlier. How did you survive that and what 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:51.480 did that teach you that allowed you later on to 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:53.920 survive and thrive in the corporate setting that I want 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:55.000 to go back to college. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:00.119 Yeah. I think what became really fascinating very quickly is 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:02.640 is as we traversed those worlds, and so we would 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:06.000 spend nine months in Tucson and then we'd go back 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:10.320 to Compton for and spent our summers in Compton. The 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:13.320 practical reality was it was one hundred and ten degrees 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.119 in Tucson. But the other is, when your dad's a 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:19.840 track coach, you know, kind of summers are the only 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:24.320 time he really has has off after the track season ends. 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:28.280 And so our life was very much traversing back and 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.280 forth between those two worlds, and I think very very 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:34.880 quickly we realized we weren't black enough for the black 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.639 kids anymore, and we weren't white enough for the white kids. 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:40.320 So all of a sudden, the black kids started saying, 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.320 you talk funny. Why are you talking like that? You 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:47.919 talk with an accent, you know. The white kids, you know, 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.879 were like, your hair is different. Why is your hair different? 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:54.840 And so the going back to what you were saying 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:59.520 earlier with good parents, My parents were very grounded in 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:03.440 the fact that you don't change who you are depending 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.119 on what your environment is. You were always who you 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:10.480 are and allow people to adjust to you. You don't 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.480 adjust to other people. And again I didn't realize it 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.680 at the time, but what that instilled that has served 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.720 me very very well in my life and especially in 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:24.760 corporate is I show up authentically who I am. Like 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.639 when people talk about imposter syndrome, I'm fortunate that that's 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:33.280 something I've never understood because my parents kind of beat 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.560 that out of us at a very early age, right, 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.280 which is like, you be who you are, You be 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.160 authentic to who you are, and the world will adjust 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.720 to you. You don't adjust to the world. And I 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:49.480 think that was really foundational for us as kids, and 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.920 so it gave us permission to be who we were authentically. 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.920 Quincy Jones once told me God bless us, soul rest 0:20:57.960 --> 0:20:59.960 and so al He said, not one ounce of myself 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:04.840 esteem depends on your acceptance of mem That's reminds me 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:07.880 of how your parents raised you. Yeah, very much said 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:11.399 fifteen years of Fanny May. And so we should probably 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:14.040 describe very briefly what Fanny May is. Fanny May and 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:16.080 Freddie Mac. Fanny May is the bigger of the two 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.800 entities in a culture, the rewards jumping in title stacking. 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:24.240 What made you stay? What were your building blocks there 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:27.760 that you couldn't get somewhere else? Why was that important 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.520 to stay there for fifteen years? And again that's unpacked, 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:32.439 just very briefly what Fanny May is. 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:36.720 Yeah, So Fanny May take. So they're in what's called 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:39.560 the secondary market, so wells Fargo's in the primary market. 0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:43.840 We lend directly to consumers. Fanny May and Freddie Mac 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:48.119 then take those loans and lenders actually sell them to 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:51.919 Fanny May and Freddie Mac. They take a bunch of 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:55.359 loans and put them together and then put them out 0:21:55.440 --> 0:22:00.440 into the capital markets as a security. And it's those 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:05.680 securities and investors investing in those securities that then allows 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:11.560 rates to go down or rates to be lower as 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:15.879 a result of the efficiency of the investors getting those returns. 0:22:16.320 --> 0:22:19.200 So Fannie May had a really critical role to play. 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:21.640 Always tell you a way you can tell the effectiveness 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:24.720 of Fanny and Freddy is if you look You don't 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:26.199 have to look in the paper anymore, but if you 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:29.560 go online and look at what rates are for a 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:33.400 jumbo mortgage or what rates are for a conventional mortgage, 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:38.040 which is which is what Fanny and Freddie secure. That 0:22:38.320 --> 0:22:41.800 spread difference is the value or that gap is the 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:44.879 difference of what the value of a Fanny May or 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:48.399 Freddie Mac is to consumers. 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:52.400 It subsidizes the rate it buys down the cost of 0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:55.240 getting mortgage. When so Fanny Main and Freddie Mack are like, 0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:58.639 they're not government entities. Well their government. 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:04.639 Related, government related, Yeah, government sponsored entity m g S. 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:10.679 Yeah. Okay, So you ran worldwide Oh this is so sexy. 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:16.360 You ran worldwide, worldwide corporate HR at PepsiCo. Now that's 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:17.959 all cool. If you come to Atlanta. You can't come 0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:21.960 to Land talk about Pepsi but co color. But that's cool. 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:28.320 You were a worldwide HR human resources at PepsiCo. Uh. 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:32.359 That's not typical move for someone in financial services. What 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:35.040 did a role like that teach you that no finance 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:37.520 job would and was that intentional to take that role? 0:23:39.000 --> 0:23:42.439 Yeah? So Pepsi was before my financial services career. So 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:45.480 I went for Baxter Healthcare yep. Yeah, So I went 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:50.680 for Baxter Healthcare to then Pepsi. Uh, and was in 0:23:50.720 --> 0:23:53.879 my whole eight and a half years at Pepsi, I 0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:56.760 was in human resources and so I had been with 0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.639 the Freedolay division in the field for six years and 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.600 then got this move to move to corporate headquarters and 0:24:03.760 --> 0:24:07.399 manage worldwide. I think was what was powerful about having 0:24:07.440 --> 0:24:12.160 worldwide responsibility was getting the international experience, like really trying 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:17.280 to figure out how other countries how they actually operated, 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:19.960 how the culture was different. It was all PEPSI, but 0:24:20.040 --> 0:24:23.679 the culture was different depending on the culture or the 0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:26.639 country where people were from. And so it was like 0:24:26.880 --> 0:24:32.959 learning how to drive results and be successful in cultures 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:36.920 that had different values, that had different systems than kind 0:24:36.960 --> 0:24:39.160 of what we had at PEPSI. So that was really powerful. 0:24:39.440 --> 0:24:43.840 And then I left PEPSI and went into financial services. 0:24:43.920 --> 0:24:46.720 So I think the building blocks John when I think 0:24:46.800 --> 0:24:49.800 back on my career, there's a common thread that goes 0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:53.080 through it all. Whether it was healthcare or consumer products 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:58.720 or financial services, the common thread really was this understanding people, 0:24:59.560 --> 0:25:04.080 understand the needs of people, and figuring out what solutions 0:25:04.160 --> 0:25:08.080 were to make that make things better for those people. 0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:10.919 And so, you know, whether if it's in sales, it 0:25:10.960 --> 0:25:14.119 was actually selling a product to be able to deliver 0:25:14.200 --> 0:25:16.880 that and understand what people's needs were around that product. 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:20.800 In human resources, it was around kind of putting talent 0:25:20.920 --> 0:25:24.080 together and helping kind of drive results for the company 0:25:24.200 --> 0:25:26.159 or making sure we had the right people in the 0:25:26.280 --> 0:25:29.280 right seats to deliver what the company needed. And then 0:25:29.320 --> 0:25:33.360 when I moved into then managing you know, a business 0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:37.040 and actually running a business, it was about how do 0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:39.160 you put all those things together. How do you get 0:25:39.200 --> 0:25:42.560 the most out of people? Take this incremental effort that 0:25:42.600 --> 0:25:44.720 people have and have them give it to you so 0:25:44.760 --> 0:25:48.359 you can get better results, but then deliver for whatever 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:52.639 the stakeholder needed. And so you talk about building blocks. 0:25:52.640 --> 0:25:56.280 It looks like diverse jobs, but it really was building blocks. 0:25:56.320 --> 0:26:00.439 On in each job, I learned something that helped me 0:26:00.560 --> 0:26:03.800 be more successful at the next job, right Learning how 0:26:03.840 --> 0:26:06.080 to get along with people, learning how to get the 0:26:06.119 --> 0:26:10.119 best out of people, learning how to design systems so 0:26:10.200 --> 0:26:12.640 that the company could work better. Each one of those 0:26:12.720 --> 0:26:15.120 jobs taught me how to do that so that when 0:26:15.160 --> 0:26:17.679 I was then running a business, I was able to 0:26:17.680 --> 0:26:19.520 take all those experiences and put them together. 0:26:20.320 --> 0:26:23.440 You know, it's really wonderful about listening to you unpack 0:26:23.640 --> 0:26:28.119 all of this, putting this fact that I'm a personal 0:26:28.119 --> 0:26:31.800 fan of yours aside. If I had taken off the 0:26:31.920 --> 0:26:34.560 visuals here, we weren't just doing a simple podcast. I 0:26:34.560 --> 0:26:37.199 hadn't said you were an African American. And if we 0:26:37.320 --> 0:26:40.159 even had AI mask your voice so that it was 0:26:40.240 --> 0:26:43.400 neutral and you can tell whether you're male or female, 0:26:43.040 --> 0:26:46.440 no one listening to this here around the world. We'll 0:26:46.640 --> 0:26:50.359 be able to discern because you're just talking to us. Excellence. 0:26:50.560 --> 0:26:54.560 It's not black excellence, it's not female excellence, is not 0:26:54.720 --> 0:26:59.720 some asterisk excellence. It's just excellence. And you come ready 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:03.800 to and I like that. And what hit me also 0:27:04.000 --> 0:27:07.800 about your story? And I really hadn't thought about it 0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:10.520 until this interview. I think because I think about I 0:27:10.520 --> 0:27:11.760 try to be president. I think about you in the 0:27:11.760 --> 0:27:15.720 current context. You went from you You've traveled industries and 0:27:15.760 --> 0:27:19.960 you've traveled the world. You went from healthcare to a 0:27:19.960 --> 0:27:23.600 government sponsored entity, I mean, not necessarily to a beverage business, 0:27:24.080 --> 0:27:27.560 a government sponsored entity, not necessarily in this order, a 0:27:27.600 --> 0:27:35.440 mortgage operation. Uh, really an operating leader and of regional company, 0:27:35.520 --> 0:27:37.720 a balance sheet, running a balance sheet in an income 0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:43.119 statement at a pretty young age. Then running a national 0:27:43.200 --> 0:27:48.119 company and sorry, yeah, a national company, uh with in 0:27:48.160 --> 0:27:51.000 the in the banking, in the finance and mortgage space. 0:27:51.720 --> 0:27:55.800 And now and then internationally, whether it's the second time 0:27:55.800 --> 0:27:59.119 in international PepsiCo in this one, uh with Wells Fargo, 0:27:59.240 --> 0:28:03.760 and and you're going from Compton to Copenhagen. And bring 0:28:03.760 --> 0:28:07.879 anybody listening to this who want to know how to 0:28:07.920 --> 0:28:09.639 play it in a high level. You never want to 0:28:09.680 --> 0:28:11.840 pay for stuff yourself if you can avoid it, Like 0:28:12.160 --> 0:28:13.520 you don't want to pay for a corporate jet, you 0:28:13.560 --> 0:28:15.840 want to go on the company's corporate jet. Right. You know, 0:28:16.200 --> 0:28:18.960 if you're swapping your own credit card, you're doing something wrong. 0:28:20.560 --> 0:28:22.280 If you don't want to pay to travel all around 0:28:22.280 --> 0:28:24.280 the world, you want to get a job. If that's 0:28:24.400 --> 0:28:26.719 your passion that takes you around the world, let them 0:28:26.760 --> 0:28:29.240 pay for it. I mean, you're it's fair changing the robbery. 0:28:29.320 --> 0:28:33.280 You're not cheating them. You're their emissary, you're their ambassador 0:28:33.359 --> 0:28:35.119 around the world. You're doing the job. You're putting the 0:28:35.160 --> 0:28:37.320 work in ninety percent of your travel, it's gonna be business, 0:28:37.359 --> 0:28:39.560 but you'll take ten percent while you're there and explore 0:28:39.680 --> 0:28:42.280 the culture. And that makes you, as you're hearing from Christy, 0:28:42.400 --> 0:28:47.520 a well rounded person. There's a version of career advancement, Christy, 0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:53.920 where you're always sort of playing offense, getting the next title, 0:28:54.080 --> 0:28:57.720 the next check. And then there's another version where you're 0:28:57.760 --> 0:29:01.400 playing chess and not checkers. Which one were you playing 0:29:01.840 --> 0:29:04.320 the was the answer? And at what point did you 0:29:04.480 --> 0:29:06.960 know the difference between which one you were playing. 0:29:09.320 --> 0:29:12.360 Yeah, it's a good question, John, because I don't I 0:29:12.640 --> 0:29:15.320 you know Steve Jobs said, you can only connect the 0:29:15.440 --> 0:29:20.080 dots looking backward, and I think as I was in 0:29:20.240 --> 0:29:23.840 it and living it, I was always really focused on 0:29:24.760 --> 0:29:27.240 doing a good job at the job that I had. 0:29:28.320 --> 0:29:32.120 I was always very cognizant to my job was to 0:29:32.200 --> 0:29:34.760 make my boss look good and to make my boss's 0:29:34.880 --> 0:29:38.680 life easier. And so I not only was doing my work, 0:29:38.720 --> 0:29:41.320 but I always tried to understand from my boss, like 0:29:41.440 --> 0:29:43.720 what are we trying to achieve and how do I 0:29:43.880 --> 0:29:46.240 do my part to help you achieve that? And I 0:29:46.280 --> 0:29:48.800 think what that did for me and maybe this is 0:29:48.840 --> 0:29:50.560 a little bit of the chest as I was thinking 0:29:50.560 --> 0:29:53.080 about next move, I never was focused on what my 0:29:53.280 --> 0:29:58.240 next move was, but by really being intentional about making 0:29:58.280 --> 0:30:01.040 sure my boss was successful and sure we were doing 0:30:01.160 --> 0:30:03.560 what the company needed us to do. I was always 0:30:03.600 --> 0:30:07.440 thinking broader about the company, never just about the role 0:30:07.560 --> 0:30:12.280 that I had, and so that really helped. When an 0:30:12.320 --> 0:30:16.120 opportunity came up, my boss would say, hey, I hate 0:30:16.160 --> 0:30:18.600 to lose her, but Christy should go on that or 0:30:18.680 --> 0:30:23.400 special projects. I would get nominated for special projects that 0:30:23.520 --> 0:30:27.520 then got me exposure to other people in the company 0:30:27.720 --> 0:30:32.720 that then just led to my next opportunity and my 0:30:32.920 --> 0:30:37.000 next job. And so the first job I ever applied for, 0:30:37.240 --> 0:30:39.560 and really the only job I ever applied for, was 0:30:39.640 --> 0:30:42.080 my first job out of college at Baxter. All my 0:30:42.240 --> 0:30:45.920 other jobs has come from somebody reaching out and saying, 0:30:46.360 --> 0:30:48.880 will you come take this job or we think you'd 0:30:48.920 --> 0:30:54.040 be created this, and so the movement happened by other people, 0:30:54.320 --> 0:30:58.760 not by me applying applying for jobs, and so I think, 0:30:59.000 --> 0:31:01.480 you know, that is the I was focused on doing 0:31:01.520 --> 0:31:04.840 a good job. I was focused on leaving an impact 0:31:05.240 --> 0:31:08.680 and having an impact broader than the role that I 0:31:08.920 --> 0:31:10.720 was in, but trying to have a broader impact on 0:31:10.800 --> 0:31:13.760 the company and really trying to understand what were the 0:31:13.840 --> 0:31:16.360 problems of the company and how could I help solve them, 0:31:16.480 --> 0:31:20.640 even from my chair. And that just made people notice 0:31:20.800 --> 0:31:23.800 me and say, let's give her the opportunity to go 0:31:23.920 --> 0:31:27.480 do more, and that just afforded me continued opportunities to 0:31:27.480 --> 0:31:28.040 go do more. 0:31:30.680 --> 0:31:34.000 So you and I never had this conversation before. You know, 0:31:34.760 --> 0:31:38.280 this is the first time. And it's ironic that you're 0:31:38.440 --> 0:31:41.600 answering in ways that just are very consistent with top 0:31:41.720 --> 0:31:44.400 line leaders. It's not ironic. Maybe I writing to the audience, 0:31:44.480 --> 0:31:46.680 not I writing to me. It is pleasing to me 0:31:46.960 --> 0:31:49.000 that all these things are pretty much the same. What 0:31:49.080 --> 0:31:51.760 do I mean by that? At never, at one time 0:31:51.840 --> 0:31:54.320 that you infer this was about you, This is about 0:31:54.360 --> 0:31:56.280 making your boss look good. And you know this is 0:31:56.280 --> 0:31:59.680 about to give. And I say about about relationships a 0:31:59.720 --> 0:32:03.160 give A giver is exotic, A giver or take her 0:32:03.240 --> 0:32:06.160 is neurotic, and a taker or take her is psychotic. 0:32:09.360 --> 0:32:12.880 And when I'm hanging around you, I see you around 0:32:12.920 --> 0:32:15.480 other givers. And even the way you just talked about 0:32:17.040 --> 0:32:19.239 leading is leading through service. It's how do I make 0:32:19.280 --> 0:32:21.840 my boss look good? You talk about your husband when 0:32:21.840 --> 0:32:25.000 he's not there in very admirable ways. You're always giving 0:32:25.080 --> 0:32:26.640 him props. By the way, let's give him his Let's 0:32:26.640 --> 0:32:29.440 give him his props. Public that his name is Steve, 0:32:30.600 --> 0:32:38.160 Steve Ferko, good brother. And and so my guess is 0:32:39.040 --> 0:32:40.880 and I'm the same way in the way I think 0:32:40.880 --> 0:32:43.880 you're going to answer. You never asked for money, Sorry, 0:32:43.880 --> 0:32:45.920 you never asked for what? How much were you going 0:32:45.960 --> 0:32:47.560 to get paid in these different jobs? That was never 0:32:47.600 --> 0:32:50.560 one of the top three questions. Let me back up 0:32:50.720 --> 0:32:52.880 before I say that. Let me say that I've you've 0:32:52.960 --> 0:32:56.680 also mentioned relationship capital and I often say if you 0:32:56.760 --> 0:33:00.160 hang around nine bro people, you'll be the tenth. So 0:33:00.400 --> 0:33:02.880 you you were around the right people. You didn't fill 0:33:02.880 --> 0:33:05.280 out an application. But one time it was people saying, 0:33:05.320 --> 0:33:08.440 you know what, Chrissy is pretty talented and these might 0:33:08.480 --> 0:33:10.160 be white people. Just be really blunt here. These might 0:33:10.200 --> 0:33:12.400 be an oftentimes white people because they're in the power structure, 0:33:12.600 --> 0:33:13.160 and they weren't. 0:33:13.240 --> 0:33:15.200 Most of the time there was you go. 0:33:15.520 --> 0:33:18.920 So they were just recognizing, here's a very talented person 0:33:18.960 --> 0:33:22.160 who can help me grow my things respect. It's irrelevant 0:33:22.200 --> 0:33:24.960 that she's black female. It might have been positive because 0:33:24.960 --> 0:33:26.760 it makes them look good in some way, but they didn't. 0:33:27.080 --> 0:33:29.880 That was an afterthought. It was like, oh no, she's confident, 0:33:30.520 --> 0:33:33.400 and I want people to hear that. And I also 0:33:33.480 --> 0:33:36.200 want to now go to this question about was it 0:33:36.320 --> 0:33:39.680 ever about money? Because at the society, this generation behind 0:33:39.720 --> 0:33:43.240 yours and mine, I'm so I'm just getting so tired 0:33:43.920 --> 0:33:47.920 of everything being a conversation about money, money, money. Even 0:33:47.960 --> 0:33:52.160 relationships now are getting transactional, and that's just wrong. You're 0:33:52.160 --> 0:33:54.959 gonna lose lose, losees the taker mentality. Am I right 0:33:55.160 --> 0:33:58.040 that your top three four questions when asking about a 0:33:58.120 --> 0:34:00.920 new position, new job you did. It not even cover 0:34:01.040 --> 0:34:02.760 the issue of what does this position pay? 0:34:03.600 --> 0:34:07.040 Yes, never, it never came up. It was always about 0:34:07.120 --> 0:34:11.600 the experience. It was always about taking an inventory of 0:34:12.320 --> 0:34:15.800 what I had in my toolbox and what skills I 0:34:15.920 --> 0:34:18.960 wanted to learn. And if it was about learning new 0:34:19.040 --> 0:34:21.920 skills and new opportunity, I was all for it. 0:34:23.080 --> 0:34:23.680 That's payment. 0:34:23.920 --> 0:34:28.240 Actually, yes, that's payment. Yeah, it's a different level of currency. 0:34:28.440 --> 0:34:29.480 It's a different currency. 0:34:29.920 --> 0:34:34.440 That's it. Where did you feel genuinely powerful in your career? When? 0:34:35.080 --> 0:34:37.239 At what point? And when and where? When did you 0:34:37.280 --> 0:34:40.640 feel not comfortable or powerful? It might have been a 0:34:40.680 --> 0:34:43.600 different day in the same position, who knows. Yeah, what 0:34:43.760 --> 0:34:46.800 did like and what did you feel like in that 0:34:47.120 --> 0:34:47.680 that moment? Like? 0:34:47.760 --> 0:34:47.800 What? 0:34:47.920 --> 0:34:50.520 In other words, share the audience that you if you 0:34:50.680 --> 0:34:52.439 ever felt not enough? 0:34:53.840 --> 0:34:58.239 Yeah, well I'll start with the I'll start with the 0:34:58.320 --> 0:35:03.080 powerful one first. I definitely have felt both, but I 0:35:03.239 --> 0:35:05.680 think the and it was it had to do with 0:35:05.840 --> 0:35:09.160 my coming to wealth. So I got the call about 0:35:09.200 --> 0:35:14.240 the job at Wells, and I went into the interview, 0:35:14.400 --> 0:35:17.720 and interestingly, the job about the or the call about 0:35:17.719 --> 0:35:20.440 the job at Wells came one week to the day 0:35:20.600 --> 0:35:22.040 after George Floyd's murder. 0:35:22.680 --> 0:35:22.919 Wow. 0:35:23.239 --> 0:35:27.759 And I had spent that week really really struggling. And 0:35:27.800 --> 0:35:30.000 I don't know if people remember, but taking people back, 0:35:30.080 --> 0:35:36.040 we had had a succession of murders, with people being 0:35:36.160 --> 0:35:39.680 killed in their homes on the street, And it was 0:35:40.000 --> 0:35:43.360 this awareness for me that my blackness all of a 0:35:43.400 --> 0:35:46.960 sudden made me uniquely vulnerable in this world in a 0:35:47.040 --> 0:35:49.799 way that I hadn't thought about before, because again going 0:35:49.840 --> 0:35:52.720 back to my upbringing, we traversed both of those worlds. 0:35:52.760 --> 0:35:55.399 So it wasn't about being black. It was about being 0:35:55.480 --> 0:35:58.279 excellent to your point. That's how I was raised, and 0:35:58.480 --> 0:36:02.240 so that aireness was like and I'm a big runner, 0:36:02.360 --> 0:36:03.960 so it was like, you mean I can go out 0:36:04.000 --> 0:36:06.480 on the street and run and somebody shoot me or 0:36:06.640 --> 0:36:09.840 run me over with the car. So after the George Floyd, 0:36:09.880 --> 0:36:12.279 I was I was really in a bad way, and 0:36:12.800 --> 0:36:16.239 I just kept thinking about how do I contribute, what's 0:36:16.400 --> 0:36:19.080 my role? How do I make this better? What can 0:36:19.200 --> 0:36:22.960 I do to change the plight for black and brown families? 0:36:23.160 --> 0:36:25.920 And I just kept hearing a voice that said, it's housing. 0:36:26.120 --> 0:36:29.000 It's housing, You're where you need to be. Home Ownership 0:36:29.120 --> 0:36:31.759 is still the single largest financial purchase that many people 0:36:31.800 --> 0:36:34.960 will make ever make. It's still the quickest path to 0:36:35.480 --> 0:36:38.279 wealth and generational wealth if you keep the home in 0:36:38.360 --> 0:36:47.239 the family. And so it was about is what the 0:36:47.480 --> 0:36:53.320 single largest or the fastest way to wealth and wealth, 0:36:53.520 --> 0:36:56.520 gender building, generational wealth that most people will ever have, 0:36:57.400 --> 0:36:59.919 And so it was I was in the right place. 0:37:00.120 --> 0:37:02.720 So when I got the call a week later about 0:37:02.800 --> 0:37:07.479 the job at Wells Fargo, in every interview when people 0:37:07.600 --> 0:37:10.960 asked why did I want this job, my answer was 0:37:11.360 --> 0:37:13.640 because I want to put more black and brown people 0:37:13.719 --> 0:37:20.080 in homes. And to my great surprise, every interviewer said, 0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:22.960 that's really great. Come do that at Wells Fargo. 0:37:23.680 --> 0:37:23.879 Wow. 0:37:23.960 --> 0:37:28.160 And the powerful part was is I had a job. 0:37:28.360 --> 0:37:30.840 I had only been at Flagstar for three years. I 0:37:31.000 --> 0:37:33.439 had a job and was perfectly happy at that job. 0:37:34.080 --> 0:37:37.480 And while Wells Fargo was ten times the size and 0:37:37.640 --> 0:37:39.839 the biggest mortgage job in the country at the time, 0:37:40.680 --> 0:37:44.279 it was that that wasn't important to me. I was 0:37:44.320 --> 0:37:47.960 searching for bigger legacy, how to make things better, bigger 0:37:48.120 --> 0:37:52.400 better for others. And so the boldness the power that 0:37:52.600 --> 0:37:56.239 I felt in saying my intention is to put more 0:37:56.280 --> 0:37:59.920 black and brown people in homes and to have that 0:38:00.040 --> 0:38:03.759 and say that's great. Do that here? That that made 0:38:04.000 --> 0:38:06.920 you know? That was like, wow, that's what using your 0:38:06.960 --> 0:38:10.600 power looks like. And so then stepping into mortgage, there 0:38:10.680 --> 0:38:14.520 was never a question over what my intentions were because 0:38:15.040 --> 0:38:17.520 I had been really clear about that up front. And 0:38:17.680 --> 0:38:20.239 so I think the learning from that, and certainly the 0:38:20.320 --> 0:38:24.040 message to your listeners is you always have more power 0:38:24.120 --> 0:38:27.520 than you think you have. Use your leverage for good 0:38:28.560 --> 0:38:31.840 and to make things better for others. Don't be afraid 0:38:31.880 --> 0:38:34.759 to hold on to what you have or what you 0:38:34.920 --> 0:38:38.600 might lose. So that was the first thing I would say. 0:38:38.640 --> 0:38:43.920 The place where I felt pretty vulnerable was the first 0:38:44.080 --> 0:38:48.680 time I actually left Fanny May and went into Flagstar 0:38:49.040 --> 0:38:52.000 again as the head of mortgage. It was my first 0:38:52.120 --> 0:38:57.120 time truly in a standalone running my own income statement 0:38:57.200 --> 0:39:02.480 and balance sheet, and every day I felt overwhelmed. Every 0:39:02.600 --> 0:39:05.600 day I had the question of am I good enough? 0:39:05.800 --> 0:39:08.000 Do I have the knowledge and skills to do this? 0:39:08.120 --> 0:39:10.440 It was one thing to run it inside of a 0:39:10.520 --> 0:39:13.120 company Fanny May or to be a part of. I 0:39:13.280 --> 0:39:15.960 was running a division inside of Fanny Mae, but somebody 0:39:16.000 --> 0:39:18.720 else was responsible for the whole thing. All of a sudden, 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:22.800 I was responsible for the whole thing and so, and 0:39:22.920 --> 0:39:25.920 we were a publicly traded company and so it was, 0:39:26.320 --> 0:39:28.880 and with eighty percent of the revenue coming from mortgage, 0:39:28.960 --> 0:39:32.360 So that was an enormous amount of pressure that I 0:39:32.560 --> 0:39:34.759 was feeling about am I good enough? Do I have 0:39:34.920 --> 0:39:38.120 the right knowledge? Can I pull all this together? And 0:39:39.040 --> 0:39:42.400 that's where, to your point, this relationship capital really fell in. 0:39:42.840 --> 0:39:46.760 It was leaning on people, being very open and vulnerable 0:39:46.800 --> 0:39:50.560 about how I was feeling coming home every night talking 0:39:50.600 --> 0:39:53.040 to my husband, and you know, he would boost me up, 0:39:53.200 --> 0:39:55.960 like are you kidding me? You haven't like, you know, 0:39:56.080 --> 0:39:58.360 you know what to do, you know the right people, 0:39:58.440 --> 0:40:01.000 you have the right team, like relying on them. And 0:40:01.200 --> 0:40:03.000 I think that's what I've learned in my career, John, 0:40:03.320 --> 0:40:07.200 is success isn't about the contribution of any one individual. 0:40:07.560 --> 0:40:12.000 Like any career success I have, it is a culmination 0:40:12.400 --> 0:40:15.239 of the great relationships I've had, the people that I've 0:40:15.280 --> 0:40:19.279 invested in, and what I've been able to achieve with 0:40:19.719 --> 0:40:23.800 other people. It's also the most rewarding part of a 0:40:23.960 --> 0:40:27.839 career as well. But it is you know, not being 0:40:27.920 --> 0:40:31.239 afraid to ask for help, not being afraid to lean 0:40:31.400 --> 0:40:36.279 on other people, because wherever you feel you have a gap, 0:40:36.400 --> 0:40:40.120 there's somebody who's got that information, that knowledge to be 0:40:40.239 --> 0:40:43.280 able to fill in the gap where you might feel lacking. 0:40:43.520 --> 0:40:47.360 And it was a really powerful lesson on we don't 0:40:47.440 --> 0:40:50.080 do anything, including this life alone. 0:40:50.960 --> 0:40:55.880 Amen. So Christy, as we began to come in the 0:40:55.920 --> 0:41:01.239 home stretcher and an incredibly good interview, and I want 0:41:01.239 --> 0:41:04.880 to switch from head to heart as we've got in 0:41:04.920 --> 0:41:07.640 their home stretch can get it real personal. But as 0:41:07.719 --> 0:41:11.560 we do that, let's take a zoom out for a minute, 0:41:12.000 --> 0:41:15.239 and let's not mention the elephant in the room. There 0:41:15.320 --> 0:41:17.480 was a time where Wells Fargo's reputation was in the 0:41:17.560 --> 0:41:20.879 tank and I was on the community board in Los 0:41:20.920 --> 0:41:24.480 Angeles where a lot of these shenanigans were dreamed up 0:41:24.560 --> 0:41:26.880 twenty years ago, and I advised people not to do this, 0:41:27.000 --> 0:41:30.439 and they ignored me. That was two Wells Fargo's ago. 0:41:31.360 --> 0:41:33.840 Even though it has the same name, I think without 0:41:33.880 --> 0:41:36.160 those problems, I mean, as I look back, the management 0:41:36.280 --> 0:41:40.560 was almost entirely white, and they had some white females, 0:41:40.640 --> 0:41:43.640 but it was entirely white. And if it wasn't for 0:41:43.719 --> 0:41:45.800 those problems, for I want the listeners to understand this, 0:41:46.040 --> 0:41:49.640 rainbows only follow storms. You cannot have a rainbow without 0:41:49.640 --> 0:41:52.880 a storm first, and nobody's perfect, so don't look for that. 0:41:53.760 --> 0:41:57.000 But without those problems that wells Fargo new leadership, I 0:41:57.040 --> 0:41:59.560 don't believe Wouldham said in more enlightened way, you know 0:41:59.640 --> 0:42:02.680 what we need to change that make sure that never 0:42:02.719 --> 0:42:05.279 happens again. We also need to change the people and 0:42:05.360 --> 0:42:07.319 make sure they're more reflective, and I think that's part 0:42:07.360 --> 0:42:11.360 of the reason why the management committee and two layers 0:42:11.400 --> 0:42:14.439 down also was much more diverse under Charlie Sharf. Would 0:42:14.440 --> 0:42:16.879 you agree with that, Yeah, I mean. 0:42:16.840 --> 0:42:20.520 I think Charlie was really clear about you have to 0:42:20.560 --> 0:42:23.200 get people in who I mean we had to fix 0:42:23.320 --> 0:42:25.359 the problem. So you have to get people in who 0:42:25.480 --> 0:42:29.040 have the skills to be able to fix the problems 0:42:30.000 --> 0:42:34.120 and could be laser focused on that. But as you know, 0:42:34.680 --> 0:42:36.600 we think of ourselves as you know, kind of a 0:42:36.719 --> 0:42:40.040 large super regional bank, like we are the main Street. 0:42:40.719 --> 0:42:43.000 You know, we do Wall Street or also the Main Street, 0:42:43.160 --> 0:42:46.799 and so we have forty one hundred branches in communities 0:42:47.000 --> 0:42:50.800 all over this country. You have to be on the 0:42:50.880 --> 0:42:54.000 ground in those communities and look like those communities to 0:42:54.200 --> 0:42:58.040 understand the needs of those communities and develop product and 0:42:58.120 --> 0:43:00.920 solutions to be able to serve those community. And so 0:43:02.000 --> 0:43:06.759 I think that's critically important that the company reflect the 0:43:06.880 --> 0:43:10.520 customers that they are trying to serve. And that's at 0:43:10.560 --> 0:43:13.280 the front line, all the way into the c suite. 0:43:16.719 --> 0:43:19.640 And I think that the bank is now best in class. 0:43:19.920 --> 0:43:22.160 I mean, everybody makes mistakes every now and then, but 0:43:22.280 --> 0:43:25.000 I'm i'd put right up there at the top. And 0:43:25.440 --> 0:43:27.880 and it's She's right. It's Wall Street with with a 0:43:28.080 --> 0:43:30.480 touch of main Street. So let's go. 0:43:30.560 --> 0:43:32.840 Personal, now main Street with the Wall Street. 0:43:33.960 --> 0:43:38.439 She's gone once up first, you flipped it. For those 0:43:38.480 --> 0:43:43.000 who who understand code switching, she just flipped the code 0:43:43.719 --> 0:43:46.400 because they really are a huge Wall Street firm, and 0:43:46.760 --> 0:43:48.560 even to give them the complement that they understand main 0:43:48.560 --> 0:43:50.440 Street would be a complement, she's flipped it. So no, no, 0:43:50.520 --> 0:43:54.120 we're main Street. Don't get it twisted. Who Yeah, yeah, 0:43:54.160 --> 0:43:59.120 that's that's that's uh. You've used the term double only 0:44:00.800 --> 0:44:03.200 the only black person and the only woman in the room. 0:44:04.400 --> 0:44:06.920 Of course, I know half of that feeling. What's the 0:44:07.000 --> 0:44:10.279 emotional cost of carrying that role? How do you not 0:44:10.400 --> 0:44:14.800 let it crush you? And you've also said that because 0:44:14.840 --> 0:44:17.960 you're the only person in the room. People listen that 0:44:18.120 --> 0:44:21.520 you were never afraid to be the challenged voice. Talk 0:44:21.560 --> 0:44:24.360 to me about and us about what it takes, what 0:44:24.520 --> 0:44:28.040 that actually looks like, and what it took to learn 0:44:28.080 --> 0:44:29.840 how to use that voice that way, because a lot 0:44:29.880 --> 0:44:32.280 of people in your position go completely quiet. 0:44:33.680 --> 0:44:36.440 Yeah, well, I think two things. 0:44:36.560 --> 0:44:39.799 One, the double only is the only thing I know, right, 0:44:39.960 --> 0:44:42.360 So being the only woman in the room, being the 0:44:42.440 --> 0:44:47.120 only black in the room, especially in mortgage banking, you 0:44:48.320 --> 0:44:50.840 just get comfortable. And I think my upbringing had a 0:44:50.880 --> 0:44:54.239 lot to do with that. Given our upbringing, we were 0:44:54.320 --> 0:44:58.840 comfortable in every room because we were just authentic to 0:44:59.000 --> 0:45:02.640 who we are. I think the value though, when you 0:45:02.800 --> 0:45:06.520 are the double only, the value is no one else 0:45:06.680 --> 0:45:10.279 in the room has your lived experience, and so when 0:45:10.360 --> 0:45:14.480 you're there, you represent your experience. You also, I think 0:45:14.480 --> 0:45:17.880 you have an obligation to represent your experience in a 0:45:18.000 --> 0:45:22.840 way that can help inform and educate others, so it 0:45:22.960 --> 0:45:26.640 can improve the decision making or whatever is gonna you know, 0:45:26.800 --> 0:45:31.000 gonna happen. I was never afraid to ask the tough question, 0:45:31.680 --> 0:45:35.200 especially the questions that were difficult, that got to the 0:45:35.320 --> 0:45:37.400 heart of the matter. If that's what was important for 0:45:37.520 --> 0:45:40.640 us to be able to move forward. And it was 0:45:40.800 --> 0:45:45.560 just really important that you understood that when you're in 0:45:45.800 --> 0:45:50.239 the room, you have this responsibility to bring others right. 0:45:50.320 --> 0:45:52.560 So as the double only, I had responsibility to make 0:45:52.600 --> 0:45:56.040 sure that that perspective was represented in the room. If 0:45:56.120 --> 0:45:59.480 I tried to just blend in with my peers or 0:45:59.520 --> 0:46:02.120 with the other of the room, then I wasn't really 0:46:02.239 --> 0:46:04.759 adding the unique value that I could add. 0:46:04.880 --> 0:46:06.640 And I think that's what people miss. 0:46:06.440 --> 0:46:09.200 When they're quiet in a room, which is you have 0:46:09.360 --> 0:46:13.520 a unique perspective that can actually help solve the problem, 0:46:13.880 --> 0:46:16.560 or add a different perspective to move the problem in 0:46:16.600 --> 0:46:19.600 a different way. That different lens with which you see 0:46:19.680 --> 0:46:22.360 the world could be exactly the lens that. 0:46:22.440 --> 0:46:23.880 Is needed to solve the problem. 0:46:24.080 --> 0:46:29.319 And so for me, it was always this responsibility being 0:46:29.440 --> 0:46:31.799 in the room to make sure that the doors were 0:46:31.840 --> 0:46:35.600 opened wider so that those who came behind me could 0:46:35.640 --> 0:46:39.319 come through with more ease and opportunity than I did. 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:44.880 I I'm gonna ask you a question I never asked anybody, 0:46:45.880 --> 0:46:51.440 and you're uniquely able to answer it. And the audience 0:46:51.560 --> 0:46:55.560 is thriving, is desperate for these answers. I'm gonna give 0:46:55.560 --> 0:46:58.000 you both questions at the same time. Answered, However, you like, 0:46:58.920 --> 0:47:04.799 what's the most dangerous thing that a black executive can 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:08.680 do in corporate America? You sort of almost already answered, 0:47:08.719 --> 0:47:10.759 what's the most dangerous thing they can't do, which is 0:47:10.840 --> 0:47:13.880 to not be representative? So what's the most dangerous thing 0:47:13.920 --> 0:47:16.359 that a black or a Latino or a woman fill 0:47:16.400 --> 0:47:20.600 in the blank executive can do in corporate America? And 0:47:21.920 --> 0:47:26.640 has there ever been moments when you you were misread? 0:47:26.800 --> 0:47:29.520 I know the answer this where your confidence was labeled 0:47:29.640 --> 0:47:33.280 something else, your directly is mistaken for something it wasn't. 0:47:34.560 --> 0:47:39.080 How did you handle that without compromising who you are? Boy? 0:47:39.160 --> 0:47:45.400 These are loaded question. Yes, come on, let's go at it. 0:47:46.440 --> 0:47:46.720 Wow. 0:47:49.000 --> 0:47:52.960 Yeah, I get misread all the time, even to this day, 0:47:53.320 --> 0:47:57.080 I get misread all the time. People think they know 0:47:57.280 --> 0:48:01.120 my story. People look at me, and I think they 0:48:01.200 --> 0:48:05.080 make assumptions about me based on how I look, or 0:48:05.200 --> 0:48:08.200 based on how I talk or what they see of me, 0:48:09.800 --> 0:48:11.960 that they have no idea what my story is. And 0:48:12.080 --> 0:48:14.719 so when I say I'm from Compton, when I say, 0:48:16.200 --> 0:48:19.560 you know, my father committed suicide when I was fifteen 0:48:19.680 --> 0:48:22.439 years old, and I was raised by a single mother, 0:48:23.600 --> 0:48:25.920 people are like, Oh, I just assumed you grew up 0:48:25.960 --> 0:48:28.839 in a two parent household. Like people make assumptions all 0:48:28.960 --> 0:48:33.200 the time, and so I am the embodiment of don't 0:48:33.280 --> 0:48:38.120 judge people because you never know their story. And so 0:48:38.840 --> 0:48:43.280 what well I always try to do when people misunderstand 0:48:43.440 --> 0:48:48.680 or misinterpret, I do two things. One, I don't overly 0:48:48.760 --> 0:48:53.080 worry about it, because it's not mine to control. Their 0:48:53.160 --> 0:48:55.759 perception of me has nothing to do with who I 0:48:55.880 --> 0:48:59.200 actually am or what I actually am, and so I 0:48:59.320 --> 0:49:01.919 think of it more is that's their problem than mine 0:49:02.560 --> 0:49:05.960 to the extent that is impacting then my ability to 0:49:06.120 --> 0:49:07.200 get stuff done. 0:49:07.960 --> 0:49:09.480 I lean into relationships. 0:49:09.600 --> 0:49:15.120 I try to either engage them directly and understand what 0:49:15.280 --> 0:49:17.640 the problem is and how we move forward so we 0:49:17.760 --> 0:49:21.680 could focus on the work. Or I engage somebody that 0:49:22.600 --> 0:49:24.960 I know has a good relationship with them that I 0:49:25.080 --> 0:49:27.400 also have a relationship with them to kind of be 0:49:27.640 --> 0:49:30.879 a broker or a bridge to be able to get 0:49:31.040 --> 0:49:34.920 us kind of on the same page. But I think 0:49:35.000 --> 0:49:42.560 my entire career I've been underestimated or labeled, and it's 0:49:42.640 --> 0:49:45.680 about it's about just staying. 0:49:45.560 --> 0:49:46.840 On your path. 0:49:47.520 --> 0:49:52.520 People's view of you doesn't actually change who you are 0:49:52.840 --> 0:49:56.040 or what you are. You know what is true, and 0:49:56.160 --> 0:49:58.479 so you just keep lean in. And if that door 0:49:58.640 --> 0:50:01.840 isn't open for you as a result of someone's perception 0:50:01.920 --> 0:50:04.200 of you, then that wasn't the door you were supposed 0:50:04.239 --> 0:50:07.640 to step through. I believe that what's intended for you 0:50:08.520 --> 0:50:11.640 will be and that no one can actually stop that 0:50:11.760 --> 0:50:12.360 from happening. 0:50:12.600 --> 0:50:15.719 So if that door is closing, then maybe that's not 0:50:15.840 --> 0:50:16.440 the place. 0:50:16.239 --> 0:50:19.400 You should be. And what's that dangerous thing that a 0:50:19.480 --> 0:50:23.080 black executive or a minority executive can do and needs 0:50:23.120 --> 0:50:26.520 to avoid? And I mean, let me, we're running out 0:50:26.520 --> 0:50:27.840 of time, and this is so rich I want to 0:50:27.840 --> 0:50:30.120 get as much in. I'm gonna join that with another 0:50:30.239 --> 0:50:34.160 question for efficiency sake, what is the one mistake you 0:50:34.280 --> 0:50:38.759 see brilliant young black and brown professionals make most often 0:50:38.880 --> 0:50:40.279 as they try to move up. So you have any 0:50:40.320 --> 0:50:42.759 black executive that's in the seat, and what's the thing 0:50:42.840 --> 0:50:45.480 they must not do to avoid? And what's that thing 0:50:45.520 --> 0:50:48.480 that young people do that you're like, ooh, you know, 0:50:48.680 --> 0:50:50.359 I really would suggest. 0:50:50.080 --> 0:50:54.360 You not do that. Yeah, I think what is dangerous 0:50:54.680 --> 0:50:57.799 and mistakes I see people make. It's not being true 0:50:57.840 --> 0:51:01.520 to who they are. I am always really clear about 0:51:01.560 --> 0:51:05.680 where my line is, and I have defined upfront before 0:51:05.719 --> 0:51:08.560 I go into a situation, what my non negotiables are, 0:51:09.040 --> 0:51:12.359 what's important to me, what do I stand for. It's 0:51:12.480 --> 0:51:15.120 rooted in my faith, it's rooted in my values, it's 0:51:15.160 --> 0:51:18.399 rooted in who I am. But I never move that line. 0:51:18.520 --> 0:51:22.400 And the mistake that I see people make is compromising 0:51:22.680 --> 0:51:25.160 on where their line is or moving it. And you 0:51:25.440 --> 0:51:28.239 justify and you just make one normal decision, but you 0:51:28.440 --> 0:51:32.680 keep moving your line. That's really really dangerous because you'll 0:51:32.719 --> 0:51:36.320 wake up one day and not recognize yourself or not 0:51:36.480 --> 0:51:37.760 recognize what you've become. 0:51:38.440 --> 0:51:43.560 And so it's always important to be true to yourself. 0:51:43.239 --> 0:51:45.880 Because at the end of the day, when your career 0:51:46.120 --> 0:51:48.120 is over, or when you leave that company and you 0:51:48.239 --> 0:51:51.520 go somewhere else, what you what you are left with 0:51:52.760 --> 0:51:56.520 is your integrity and who you were, who you are, 0:51:56.760 --> 0:52:03.920 who you were, and what was most important and what's 0:52:04.000 --> 0:52:05.799 most important at the end of the day. No one 0:52:05.840 --> 0:52:07.799 ever says on their deathbed, I wish I had more 0:52:07.880 --> 0:52:09.759 time at work, or I wish I would have made 0:52:09.760 --> 0:52:12.600 a different decision at work. Right, it's about what's the 0:52:12.719 --> 0:52:15.840 legacy you're leading behind, who you loved who you. You know, 0:52:16.160 --> 0:52:21.560 it's about family, it's about legacy, it's much bigger. It's 0:52:21.600 --> 0:52:25.000 about who you loved and loved in return and where 0:52:25.040 --> 0:52:28.120 you loved in return. Like that at the essence of 0:52:28.239 --> 0:52:30.640 our life is kind of what's critically important. 0:52:31.480 --> 0:52:35.400 So the advice, so the thing that you would not 0:52:35.760 --> 0:52:38.919 want the corporate executive to do and the young person 0:52:38.960 --> 0:52:40.040 coming up is the same thing. 0:52:40.239 --> 0:52:43.080 It's the same thing. Got to be authentic to who 0:52:43.160 --> 0:52:45.200 you are, and you've got to know where your line is. 0:52:45.640 --> 0:52:48.160 And would you agree, don't be emotional in your decision 0:52:48.200 --> 0:52:53.279 makings at work because it's going to be probably be misread. Yes, yeah, yeah, 0:52:54.120 --> 0:52:57.040 trick to be a person of color. Yeah, so I 0:52:57.160 --> 0:52:57.719 was gonna. 0:52:58.280 --> 0:53:00.799 Emotion is important though, but you got to know when 0:53:01.080 --> 0:53:02.680 I said sometimes emotion is important. 0:53:02.880 --> 0:53:04.279 So you got to know when to do it, and 0:53:04.320 --> 0:53:06.000 you got to know who to deal it with, and 0:53:06.120 --> 0:53:07.759 you have to have relationship to do it. 0:53:08.600 --> 0:53:11.759 That's right, when things are really unacceptable, you have to 0:53:11.840 --> 0:53:13.600 let people know that that's unacceptable. 0:53:13.960 --> 0:53:18.239 Boom. That part your value system, your value system. So 0:53:18.360 --> 0:53:21.960 Operation Hope is a partner of yours, and we are 0:53:22.160 --> 0:53:25.680 in the Hope inside of branches and you and Darlene 0:53:25.719 --> 0:53:27.400 and others have really kicked the door in there and 0:53:27.480 --> 0:53:29.440 made sure that we had a presence. And it's a 0:53:29.520 --> 0:53:34.480 real partnership and it's indirectly tied to your current role. Let's, 0:53:34.680 --> 0:53:37.680 as we wrap up, help the audience understand your current role. 0:53:38.080 --> 0:53:39.799 Why is it meaningful in this moment that I think 0:53:39.880 --> 0:53:43.239 is a historic moment third reconstruction from civil rights to 0:53:43.360 --> 0:53:45.800 civil rights. And if I just left you Riff for 0:53:45.880 --> 0:53:49.520 the last few minutes of your podcast and whatever you 0:53:49.680 --> 0:53:52.560 wanted to share, this was your this is your ministry 0:53:52.600 --> 0:53:54.839 of finance, if your this is your pullpit of Hope, 0:53:55.480 --> 0:53:56.800 what would you say to the audience. 0:53:58.520 --> 0:54:00.920 Well, first of all, just as I talk about Operation 0:54:01.120 --> 0:54:04.920 Hope and the relationship that we have, I think it 0:54:05.080 --> 0:54:09.320 is one of the greatest examples of public private partnership 0:54:09.480 --> 0:54:14.239 coming together to really make a meaningful impact. The Hope 0:54:14.280 --> 0:54:18.239 inside centers that are in the Wells Fargo branches. I 0:54:18.280 --> 0:54:20.640 think we have over forty now we'll have fifty by 0:54:20.719 --> 0:54:24.399 the end of the year. Really is about a free 0:54:24.520 --> 0:54:28.799 service letting people walk in off the streets and get 0:54:28.960 --> 0:54:32.400 the help that they need to create the financial future 0:54:33.000 --> 0:54:36.200 that is going to make their life better and going 0:54:36.280 --> 0:54:38.480 to serve their families for generations to come. 0:54:38.560 --> 0:54:39.520 It's about giving the. 0:54:39.640 --> 0:54:43.240 Knowledge and investing in people with the knowledge, the tools 0:54:43.360 --> 0:54:47.200 and the resources, and being a real partner to help 0:54:47.320 --> 0:54:50.280 them be able to do the hard work right, building 0:54:50.320 --> 0:54:55.839 those daily habits to reduce debt, increase savings, start investing, 0:54:56.080 --> 0:54:59.040 buy a home if they so choose, And so that 0:54:59.160 --> 0:55:02.480 partnership is create important. Operation Hope brings the plan and 0:55:02.600 --> 0:55:05.360 Wells Fargo helps with the scale by being able to 0:55:05.480 --> 0:55:08.719 do it in our branches, in those communities where people 0:55:08.840 --> 0:55:11.440 can walk in and get help. And I think that's 0:55:11.480 --> 0:55:13.400 when I'm so passionate about the role that I have 0:55:14.080 --> 0:55:18.360 with financial inclusion. It is recognizing that people can have 0:55:18.840 --> 0:55:22.360 the financial future that they desire. They just have to 0:55:22.480 --> 0:55:27.399 be willing to work hard and do the work, make 0:55:27.480 --> 0:55:30.000 the tough choices to be able to do it. And 0:55:30.120 --> 0:55:32.080 the first thing we have to do, John, is people 0:55:32.239 --> 0:55:34.960 have to get over the shame. There's so much shame 0:55:35.239 --> 0:55:38.600 and guilt about how we have managed or haven't managed 0:55:38.600 --> 0:55:41.600 our finances. We've all made like those money mistakes that 0:55:41.719 --> 0:55:44.640 have set us back or made bad choices. Maybe there's 0:55:44.640 --> 0:55:46.759 some of your listeners who are in that place right now. 0:55:47.320 --> 0:55:50.520 It is never too late. You can always start again. 0:55:50.840 --> 0:55:55.000 And I think Operation Hope the Hope in Side centers 0:55:55.080 --> 0:55:58.319 are a great way for people to get the help 0:55:58.400 --> 0:56:01.400 that they need to be able to start again. 0:56:01.840 --> 0:56:04.080 And so I've just come to this understanding. 0:56:04.200 --> 0:56:08.840 My mother is eighty six years old and she lives 0:56:08.960 --> 0:56:12.640 in her home that is paid for. So she paid 0:56:12.719 --> 0:56:16.399 off a thirty year fix great mortgage, never refinancing one. 0:56:16.640 --> 0:56:19.239 But she is eighty six years old living in a 0:56:19.360 --> 0:56:23.759 house that she is paid off, her car is paid off, 0:56:23.840 --> 0:56:26.399 and the most my mother ever made in her life 0:56:26.560 --> 0:56:29.960 was forty thousand dollars a year. And so my mother 0:56:30.200 --> 0:56:34.759 is the embodiment of what is possible when you make 0:56:35.760 --> 0:56:40.480 the choice to sacrifice, to align your money decisions with 0:56:40.960 --> 0:56:41.920 like your values. 0:56:42.040 --> 0:56:45.120 Home ownership was a value. Education for her kids was 0:56:45.200 --> 0:56:45.680 a value. 0:56:45.760 --> 0:56:49.080 So I'm a product of a mother who sacrificed so 0:56:49.280 --> 0:56:52.160 I could have an education and do what I'm doing. 0:56:52.800 --> 0:56:56.120 And so it's all possible. People just have to believe 0:56:56.440 --> 0:56:59.520 that it is possible. And once they have that belief, 0:56:59.719 --> 0:57:03.239 then and seek they write help and support to be 0:57:03.360 --> 0:57:05.960 able to get the attention and the support that they 0:57:06.080 --> 0:57:08.600 need to be able to make that a reality for them. 0:57:10.320 --> 0:57:15.320 Beautiful if you can believe it. I actually had more questions, 0:57:15.840 --> 0:57:20.120 but I'm gonna we're We're over time. This has been fabulous. 0:57:20.560 --> 0:57:23.479 Can I ask one one final bonus question? Please? Sure 0:57:27.320 --> 0:57:30.640 folks are listening to this, they've been intrigued by you, 0:57:30.840 --> 0:57:32.960 inspired by you. By the end of this podcast, they 0:57:33.000 --> 0:57:35.560 trust you. They feel like they have their relationship with you. 0:57:36.960 --> 0:57:39.120 So they wanted to put the guards down, no shame. 0:57:40.120 --> 0:57:42.440 Somebody out here listening to this wants to be a baller. 0:57:44.200 --> 0:57:48.120 They want to access capital at a significant level. They 0:57:48.200 --> 0:57:51.120 want to be a preferred customer. They want to be 0:57:51.160 --> 0:57:53.800 able to get a credit line that's one hundred thousand, 0:57:53.880 --> 0:57:57.200 five hundred thousand, a million, five million. They want their 0:57:57.240 --> 0:58:01.920 business to be able to be business that the operating 0:58:01.960 --> 0:58:07.520 committee knows who they are in a capitalized way. As 0:58:07.680 --> 0:58:10.200 somebody sitting inside one of the biggest banks in the 0:58:10.280 --> 0:58:17.600 world and having a dual focus and being bilingual, can 0:58:17.680 --> 0:58:20.320 you tell the audience what, in your opinion is the 0:58:20.400 --> 0:58:24.080 key is to operationalize and I dream first of all, 0:58:24.200 --> 0:58:26.920 is it possible as a personal color to access capital 0:58:26.960 --> 0:58:29.760 at that level at a bank like Wells Fargo or others? 0:58:29.920 --> 0:58:33.440 And how in summary should they think about doing that. 0:58:33.840 --> 0:58:36.160 It may take them a two, three, five years, ten 0:58:36.240 --> 0:58:37.840 years to get there, but how do they get how 0:58:37.880 --> 0:58:39.720 do they go about getting to your table? 0:58:40.440 --> 0:58:44.080 Yeah, I think it's really simple. I think people should 0:58:44.280 --> 0:58:49.640 develop It's about relationship. So develop a relationship with a 0:58:49.760 --> 0:58:54.400 banker in this case, develop relationship with a banker and 0:58:54.920 --> 0:58:57.320 tell them your dreams, tell them what you're trying to do, 0:58:58.160 --> 0:59:00.960 and create a roadmap for how you're going to get there. 0:59:01.480 --> 0:59:05.120 That person then will invest in you. They'll invest in 0:59:05.240 --> 0:59:08.440 your dream they'll help move you along the path. So 0:59:08.680 --> 0:59:11.840 as you need capital to scale your business, as you 0:59:12.040 --> 0:59:16.760 need the information, the different tools and resources, they'll be 0:59:16.960 --> 0:59:20.360 helpful to help you move along. So no matter where 0:59:21.200 --> 0:59:24.320 someone is in this path, Again, none of us gets 0:59:24.360 --> 0:59:28.880 to where we are by ourselves. We need people who 0:59:29.160 --> 0:59:32.600 this is what they do, to partner with to invest in. 0:59:33.760 --> 0:59:37.200 And so I would encourage people to develop a relationship 0:59:37.360 --> 0:59:40.040 with a local banker. I would love it to be 0:59:40.160 --> 0:59:44.720 Wells Fargo, but if not, then get it somewhere. But 0:59:44.880 --> 0:59:47.680 you've got to get with people that have access to 0:59:48.440 --> 0:59:51.880 the resources, the capital, the information that you need. 0:59:52.320 --> 0:59:54.640 And people think you have to have money to go 0:59:54.800 --> 0:59:58.480 to banks. You don't. Banks are here to. 0:59:58.640 --> 1:00:02.440 Help people get into the system, develop the resources that 1:00:02.520 --> 1:00:05.800 they need to be able to realize their dreams. 1:00:06.000 --> 1:00:08.439 And I didn't get a banker to invest in your dream. 1:00:09.520 --> 1:00:13.520 So as we wrap this up in Bassador Andrew Young's quote, 1:00:13.960 --> 1:00:17.160 that's coincidence is God's way and remaining anonymous rings true 1:00:17.480 --> 1:00:19.560 because she didn't know. I didn't know what her answer 1:00:19.640 --> 1:00:21.520 was going to be. She was going to answer the question, 1:00:22.040 --> 1:00:24.880 But that line's completely up with. My first adult bank 1:00:24.880 --> 1:00:27.479 account was at Wells Fargo AD a branch from Picco 1:00:27.520 --> 1:00:30.480 Boulevard in West Los Angeles, and I think it was 1:00:30.520 --> 1:00:35.200 eighteen years old, and I remember the bank branch manager, Shapiro, 1:00:36.120 --> 1:00:38.680 and he gave me my first credit card and all 1:00:38.680 --> 1:00:41.160 that kind of stuff, and and he had he could. 1:00:41.880 --> 1:00:44.800 I was bousing checks, but I was floating. I was 1:00:44.880 --> 1:00:47.440 floating chick, and he might cover me for a day 1:00:47.520 --> 1:00:51.520 or two. He get dinged himself if I didn't cover 1:00:51.640 --> 1:00:54.160 that check, but he had enough credibility to say, John, 1:00:54.160 --> 1:00:55.760 don't give you a couple more days. And then as 1:00:55.840 --> 1:00:58.600 I every level I went up, I had somebody else 1:00:58.600 --> 1:01:02.120 i'd meet who was appropriate for that level, who said, John, 1:01:02.160 --> 1:01:04.400 I got you, and I would. My job was to 1:01:04.560 --> 1:01:07.080 inform them, educate them, keep them updated about the good 1:01:07.160 --> 1:01:08.800 news and the bad news of my life. There was 1:01:08.840 --> 1:01:11.320 no surprises ever. If there was any bad news, I 1:01:11.400 --> 1:01:13.919 told them first. But what you heard here, she didn't 1:01:13.920 --> 1:01:16.040 tell you about financial statements and p and ls and 1:01:16.360 --> 1:01:18.280 all that stuff. All that's important. She can tell you 1:01:18.280 --> 1:01:20.680 about a business plan, all that's important. She told you 1:01:20.800 --> 1:01:25.160 to build a relationship. Yeah, and that's what I've been 1:01:25.200 --> 1:01:25.520 telling you. 1:01:26.040 --> 1:01:26.080 So. 1:01:27.000 --> 1:01:29.960 Christy Ferko did not wait for the world to make 1:01:30.040 --> 1:01:32.800 room for her ladies and gentlemen. She walked in the 1:01:32.920 --> 1:01:36.320 rooms where no one looked like her. She spoke when 1:01:36.480 --> 1:01:42.240 speaking had a cause, and she made herself indispensable, not 1:01:42.440 --> 1:01:47.640 by shrinking, but by showing up fully. That's not just 1:01:47.840 --> 1:01:50.520 a career story. That's a blueprint. That's why I call 1:01:50.600 --> 1:01:53.800 this a master class. Today. If you're navigating a space, 1:01:53.880 --> 1:01:56.880 it wasn't built for you, and let's be honest, most 1:01:56.960 --> 1:02:00.760 of the spaces weren't. Christy just showed told you what 1:02:00.920 --> 1:02:04.240 it takes and what it looks like to survive and 1:02:05.080 --> 1:02:10.920 to lead. Now I can be written off, maybe as 1:02:10.960 --> 1:02:14.200 a one off, as an entrepreneur and all that kind 1:02:14.200 --> 1:02:18.400 of stuff. But Christy's a blueprint. She's inside of a 1:02:18.520 --> 1:02:23.280 fortune I think one hundred company in search of five 1:02:23.360 --> 1:02:26.880 hundred for sure, and she's done it for thirty years. 1:02:27.840 --> 1:02:34.960 With competence that's replicable. You can be the next Christy Ferco. Christy, 1:02:35.040 --> 1:02:36.760 thank you for joining us. This is Money and Wealth 1:02:37.600 --> 1:02:41.520 on the Black Effect Network on iHeartRadio. And this is 1:02:41.600 --> 1:02:46.760 a masterclass from Compton to the c suite. Thank you, Christy, 1:02:47.720 --> 1:02:53.200 Thank you. Money and Wealth with John O'Brien is a 1:02:53.240 --> 1:02:57.000 production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts 1:02:57.040 --> 1:03:00.320 from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iheartwaredio, have 1:03:00.600 --> 1:03:04.440 Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.