Lots of moxie: Regina M. Lowrie, CMB, is president and founder of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services LP, Horsham, Pennsylvania. But this month she takes on another job—chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association

Mortgage Banking, Oct, 2005 by Janet Reilley Hewitt

Regina Lowrie DIDN'T SET OUT TO BE A CHIEF EXECUTIVE. But she's every inch of one now--all 5 feet, 3 inches of her. She didn't set out to be an owner of a mortgage company, either. But she's part of that elite club, too. And she didn't set out to smash through glass ceilings. But that's on her resume as well, a couple of times over. [??] Lowrie, a hard-charging Philadelphia native, is due this month to be the first woman and first person from the Keystone State to become chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The petite, all-business Lowrie is president and founder of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, Horsham, Pennsylvania--a 56-branch, nearly-800-employee, $4-billion mortgage origination company that she owns with two "wonderful" partners. [??] The local Philly business press has been on to this lady for a while. The framed newspaper clips that line the walls of her executive conference room tell the story. The Philadelphia Business Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News all have chronicled her achievements as she became the first-woman-this and the first-woman-that. One of the earliest dates from September 1996. It covers completion of her term as president of the MBA of Greater Philadelphia--the first woman president in the organization's 56-year history. [??] The story in the Philadelphia Business Journal uses one subhead that seems to describe Lowrie just right: "Lots of moxie" is the newspaper's take on one of her key attributes. She concedes it's accurate.

There's no question it takes moxie to build a nearly-800-person mortgage company operating in 41 states from the ground up--starting with just words on paper. It started as a business plan that spelled out the vision. Gateway was launched with just seven employees in 1,500 square feet of cramped, shared office space leased from one of Lowrie's partners. On top of that, it was 1994 and conditions in the mortgage business were "terrible," she says.

But she seems to put her mind to things and make them happen. Some of her preferred reading gives you insight into her competitive spirit, work ethic and focus. For example, one favorite book is Success Is a Choice, by Rick Pitino. She's also a fan of books by and about legendary GE exec Jack Welch, including Get Better or Get Beatenl: 31 Leadership Secrets from GE's Jack Welch, by Robert Slater, and Jack: Straight from the Gut, by Jack Welch.

But moxie is probably the best description of the engine behind this success story. Lowrie concedes there was a lot of hard work, too, put in along the way. She says during "the formative years of my career and when I started Gateway, many would have called me a workaholic."

The mortgage business is filled with successful entrepreneurs who start with a vision and then through hard work, networking and a knack for motivating and attracting talented people, they make their dreams come true. Lowrie is one of those people.

There is another aspect of the dream of being a successful business executive that she has shared in. As she moved up MBA's leadership ranks and served on its committees and boards, she had the chance to meet with United States senators, Cabinet secretaries, Fed chairmen, and even presidents and vice presidents. These are experiences she has clearly treasured.

Lowrie has the photos on the wall to prove it. She attended both George Walker Bush presidential inaugurations on the front steps of the Capitol. She has a framed inaugural ticket flanked by photos of the current president and vice president hanging. Other photos, including one with Alan Greenspan, show many of the most powerful people in Washington shaking her hand. These are the trappings of a truly successful executive. And hers is probably one of the better collections.

But when you ask what accomplishment she is most proud of, the answer might surprise you. "Some might say it should be the success of Gateway or being the first woman chairman of MBA, but I would have to say my two wonderful children, Crista and Robert," she says. That's Lowrie--mom, grandmother and top exec.

Falling into the business

Lowrie didn't have any designs on a corner office when her children were small. "My career was not really the focus at that time. My children were," she says. But she took a job working part-time in the credit finance industry for Sears Credit in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

Then a transfer brought the family back to the East Coast and, specifically, New Jersey. She was managing a credit operation for Sears Credit Central on the East Coast and the Mid-Atlantic region. After six years, she was promoted to regional credit manager. Lowrie was responsible for overseeing and managing all the consumer and home-improvement loans. She spent a total of 10 years with Sears, she says.

Then an opportunity came to move back to Pennsylvania. She got an interview with Commonwealth Federal Savings and Loan for the job of vice president in its consumer finance division. But the human resources director, after meeting with her for a few hours, suggested Lowrie meet with the senior vice president for the mortgage operation. The bank had a long-term strategic plan to grow its mortgage operation.