2 min read April 2023 — In an interview with Invest:, Kathleen Davenport, Wells Fargo North Texas commercial banking market executive, talked about the highlights and achievements of the past year, including the financial services firm’s focus on local client support and building strong, strategic relationships in the DFW market. Davenport also addressed strategies for building trust with customers and counteracting negative perceptions of financial institutions, while emphasizing the importance of providing value-add ideas.
What have been some highlights and achievements for your team over the last 12 months?
We are really focusing on our client coverage support model and making sure that we have local relationships that are deeply strategic. We have some of our strongest Commercial Banking partners located here in DFW, including regional investment banking, asset-based lending, tech banking and treasury management. Having those local partners together to focus on the DFW market has been extremely exciting.
What is the strategy to ensure confidence amid challenges to the banking sector?
I was with Wells Fargo during the 2008 crisis, and there was a sense of pride with Wells Fargo being a strong institution. It comes down to developing relationships so our clients can rely on us in good and bad times. I encourage our teams to focus on building trust with clients, being great at execution, bringing value-add ideas and the comprehensive Wells Fargo toolbox.
How do you continue to build a company culture that inspires people to stay?
I was fortunate to be part of Wells Fargo’s Financial Analyst program when I was in New York and was able to learn the core fundamentals of banking through live experience. When building culture, I think of learning by doing so team members feel included in a collaborative environment. Something we are also proud of is our focus on community leadership and volunteerism. As you think about attracting and retaining talent, that is a way we can represent Wells Fargo and engage with employees and the community. For example, during International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we hosted conversations with women about business acumen, gender equity and career advancement with organizations such as the SMU Cox School of Business. We also collaborated with Leadership Dallas where we did fundraising for a food bank. Having those touch points between work and community life is extremely important as we empower employees to be good corporate citizens.
How does the Treasury Management Platform help your clients streamline operations?
Our treasury management platform includes robust payment processing, fraud protection and cash flow management capabilities to help finance teams create efficiencies and streamline the functions of their business. We also have ERP specialists that can work with companies as they transition to a new ERP system.
What is next on your agenda?
It is all about helping our North Texas clients succeed amid challenging economic conditions and achieve their long-term business goals. We have a great team, strong partners and an expansive product base. Our community engagement and impact have been great in DFW and that will certainly continue. We have our new LEED Platinum, solar-powered Las Colinas Campus in Irving coming soon that will have a strong and impactful employee base, putting the flag in DFW in an exciting way for Wells Fargo.
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