Forty Under 40: Jerry Davis

When Jerry Davis graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in architectural building and engineering, he never thought he’d end up as an Arkansas banker.

Disenchanted with the construction and development industry after a bad experience in Texas, he decided to move to Northwest Arkansas because it was a growing area, he said. Once here, he accepted a job with Arvest Mortgage Co. in Lowell and began his bank career.

“Life just brings you places,” he said about his moves from the northeast.

Now he’s helping people get into homes instead of helping to build them, he said.

In the refinancing boom of 2003, Davis closed on $32 million in mortgages for Arvest Bank. And even as the refinancing craze fell off the following year, he closed on $27 million.

The 38-year-old said his experience as an underwriter in the mortgage arm of Arvest has helped him significantly with his work as a loan originator, because he knows all the ins and outs of the bank’s products.

His advice to any up-and-coming professional is: “Love what you do, because if you don’t like it, it’ll show.”

He still practices his skills in engineering and architecture through extensive work in his yard, he said. But now that’s what he does to relax.