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12 | M R EP O RT COVER STORY M ary Ann McGarry's career in mortgage—and spe- cifically with Guild Mortgage—spans the course of nearly four decades, across peaks and valleys, booms and busts, crashes and recoveries. She began with Guild in 1984 as an internal audit supervisor, having previ- ously worked as an accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. From those humble beginnings, McGarry rose rapidly through the ranks at Guild. She was elected a Director in 1988 and served as CFO and COO before being promoted to President and CEO in 2007. She named Terry Schmidt, CFO, to succeed her as President in 2020 while continuing as CEO. Given her comprehensive and multifaceted perspective from having spent almost 40 years in the same industry and within the same organization, McGarry recently spoke with MReport about her career path. She shared how Guild has managed the extraordinary challenges of the past few years in our industry and continued growing, and why Guild recently ranked highest in Customer Satisfaction according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. // You have a bachelor's in business administration and accounting with a minor in com- puter science from the University of San Diego. Did you specifical- ly pursue a career in mortgage or was it an unexpected turn? MCGARRY // I started my career in public accounting at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell. At the time, my goal was to own my own business. Being a CPA and having exposure to many dif- ferent kinds of businesses, I felt that would give me the founda- tion needed to be successful in business, but I didn't know which business sector. They were a client of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell, and they were growing; I was recruited and thought Guild had a great reputation. I enjoyed the business and the people. I took the leap, and I joined Guild in 1984. I'm not sure anyone plans to go into mortgage banking, but once you do, it's such a great industry, so people stay. It's con- stantly changing, and you have to keep learning, which is something I really enjoy. // Since joining Guild, you've gone on to serve numerous dif- ferent executive roles over the years, as well as serving on the board of directors. What ap- pealed to you about the compa- ny, and what has kept you there ever since? MCGARRY // The people and the industry are exciting. I started in Internal Audit. Within a few years, I was promoted to SVP of Loan Servicing. I went from managing seven people to 90. My accounting and computer science background helped me reimag- ine and reengineer the servicing platform. It was rewarding; it was fun. I was able to lead a lot of talented people, which I really en- joyed. I loved the people at Guild as well as the constant challenge as I led various divisions within the company. I went from servicing to CFO to COO and then to President. Then in 2007, we led a manage- ment buyout and acquired the Strong Values, Translated Into Strong Execution MReport speaks with Guild Mortgage CEO Mary Ann McGarry about four decades spent in mortgage and how she works to nurture the "soul of a small company" with the resources of a large one. By David Wharton