Laurel Davis

Background

About Laurel Davis

I thrive when I’m building something new. My unique talent lies in creating a long-term vision and then making it a reality. With over two decades of experience as a market-driven financial leader, I excel at building internal and external coalitions to deliver results. Throughout my career, I’ve built new programs, new teams, and new capabilities. One of my proudest accomplishments was spearheading the creation of the U.S. residential mortgage credit risk transfer market. Emerging from the financial crisis, Fannie Mae needed a tool to better manage its credit risk and capital position. This meant creating a brand-new market sector from the ground up. I led the development of this program, working with a broad coalition of investors, broker-dealers, ratings agencies, and industry stakeholders. Starting from zero over a decade ago, this is now a well-established $50BB market sector. Building on an extensive background in capital markets, I’ve gained leadership experience across a variety of disciplines, including strategy, market development, financial and operational management, business growth, and investor development. A constant throughout my career has been my drive to innovate while fostering high-performing, cohesive teams. In my most recent role as Senior Vice President and Head of Mission & Impact at Fannie Mae, I built a new division to lead Fannie Mae in its mission to provide affordability, liquidity, and stability to the housing market. With a goal to maximize impact and strategic alignment, we developed programs and solutions to grow our business and create new housing opportunities. We forged deep partnerships across the housing industry that helped thousands of families build credit, become new homeowners, and save millions in upfront housing costs. My in-depth knowledge of Fannie Mae’s business helped me forge strong coalitions across the company, while my expertise in structured finance and investor development was influential in promoting our leadership in green and social bond issuance and enhancing transparent disclosures. I’m excited to embark on the next stage of my career, where I can apply my expertise in strategic leadership, capital markets innovation, and structured finance to create transformative solutions. I look forward to building cross-functional collaborations, driving measurable results, and fostering a culture of excellence to address complex challenges in the financial sector.