Forty Under 40: Clay Conly

Clay Conly, 29, has very simple advice for others in the mortgage business: 1. Be nice. 2. Do the right thing every time.

He got started in the banking business at age 16, working as a teller at First State Bank of Gurdon. He worked there through his college years, which were spent at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

Conly graduated in 1998 with a bachelor of arts in business management. Right after graduation, he was offered a job at First Western Bank, where he had been an intern in 1997.

The first year of production for First Western Mortgage was 1999. Conly started out mostly on his own that year, and did $9 million in loan volume. Four years later, in 2003, Conly and his staff, which has grown considerably in that time, did $50 million.

His goal is to double production in three years.

Conly’s father, Henry Conly, a former operations manager for International Paper, was a big influence on his professional life. He is motivated to succeed by his commitment to God and a desire to give back some of his good fortune.

Conly is very active in his church and plays golf competitively whenever he can. He serves on the board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas as vice president.