With nearly three decades of experience dedicated to Wells Fargo, Ann Spry is now specializing in an industry vertical for the first time in her career. She currently serves as the underwriting manager for Wells Fargo’s commercial vehicle group, overseeing a team of eight underwriters who support this national business line. She has spent the past year concentrating on this sector within equipment finance, learning various facets of the industry in depth.
This marks Spry’s second tenure working with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance (WFEF). She previously worked at WFEF from 2010 to 2019, beginning as the first-ever underwriter on a segment focused on larger, more complex deals. With this role, Spry’s confidence in the field grew as she leveraged her deep knowledge and understanding of how to work with bank partners.
Spry then advanced to a management role supporting another key area of equipment finance in 2016. She has also held roles in relationship management, credit and portfolio management. During the Great Recession, she spent 18 months in workouts helping customers navigate unprecedented financial challenges. With over a decade of experience in middle-market banking and teaming up with bank partners, Spry knows successful collaboration means being a trusted advisor and bringing in the right experts when required.
“Ann has a unique ability to evaluate the overall credit risk related to our clients. She manages her team to focus not just on short term results, but also on long-term performance and balances these two dynamics very well,” John Crum, credit product sales director of WFEF, says. “This perspective allows our team to go to market in a way that is consistent regardless of the evolving operating environment. In this business, it is easy to allow headlines to dictate the approach to underwriting, and Ann looks beyond to provide unique value to the industry.”
Prior to rejoining the equipment finance sector, Spry led a team responsible for the centralized underwriting and portfolio management of more than 1,000 commercial bank customers in the Central region of the United States. During this time, she was pivotal in facilitating the movement of work offshore as well as streamlining processes and procedures, which enabled her team to concentrate on larger, more impactful opportunities.
In her previous role, Spry managed a diverse team of 45 people who were geographically dispersed throughout the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. This presented extraordinary challenges that forced her to adapt her leadership to become more flexible and empathetic.
Now, with her team similarly located throughout the U.S., Spry is a strong believer in meeting one-on-one with team members on a regular cadence to not only discuss customer opportunities, but to get to know individuals personally and advocate for them at every opportunity. Spry motivates her team through her ability to address their career goals and objectives and help them reach for and achieve them.
Spry is committed to setting a strong example for women in the industry. Her personal mission is to inspire others by encouraging them to always learn, grow and feel confident to speak up. Being part of a large deal team showed Spry that her opinion is respected and valued. Now, she personally empowers her team to say what’s on their mind. This includes enabling her team to address difficult situations, while also offering to step in when needed. As a mentor, she aspires to model herself after a national sales leader she admired early on in her career. •
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