Tracy Jackson Named SouthStar CFOGary SimpsonTracy Jackson,SouthStar Funding LLC,CFO
Tracy Jackson has been named as the new chief financial officer
of SouthStar Funding LLC, an Atlanta-based, full-service mortgage
lender, offering sub-prime, interest-only, alt-A and conventional
financing.
Jackson was previously the CFO of Principal Residential
Mortgage, a Des Moines, Iowa-based mortgage banking business, that
was sold to Citigroup Inc. on July 1, 2004. He brings more than 20
years of experience in the mortgage industry to his new position
with SouthStar. Jackson has been in the mortgage business since
1983 and has worked as a CFO for several different mortgage banking
companies.
When it came time for him to move on from his position at
Principal Residential Mortgage, Jackson said he went looking for,
“A company that was exciting, growing, and one that offered
challenges and opportunities for growth and advancement, along with
the opportunity to really build something exciting. That's what I
was looking for and [I've] really found the answer in
SouthStar.” In SouthStar Funding, he believes that he has
discovered a company that can take advantage of the culture of
financial discipline that Jackson brings from Principal. He also
sees SouthStar as a company that, because of its customer service
orientation, is well-suited to assist mortgage brokers with their
overall originations. He noted that while there has been a
considerable amount of consolidation on the mortgage-servicer side
of the industry, the number of mortgage brokers and originators has
grown exponentially in the past few years. Jackson added that
SouthStar has an excellent reputation in regards to merging the
personal touch with technology.
“In my brief period here at SouthStar and in my
communications with them over the past few weeks and months, the
personal touch is very important, here, and you see it in
everything they do,” explained Jackson. “What I think
they're doing is that they're listening to the broker, hearing what
the broker needs and then providing the tools that will help them
reach specific customers.”
In his role as SouthStar's CFO, he intends to go beyond the
traditional stereotype of the chief financial officer as a staid
“bean counter” that's detached from the rest of the
company. Jackson stated that his strong background in various areas
of the mortgage industry would allow him to become involved with
product development and help SouthStar reach out to new business
partners and investors.
“Obviously, there are a lot of responsibilities for a CFO
and they revolve around the financial aspects, but key roles are
raising lines of credit and raising capital within lines of credit,
financial controls and different kinds of financial initiatives
that help the company be profitable,” said Jackson.
He and his family are thrilled to be relocating to Atlanta from
Des Moines, Iowa. Jackson insists that they will miss the nice
people, but not the cold Des Moines winters.
“It's an exciting move for us,” he said. “It
will be fun to be a part of the Georgia community.”
During his time in Des Moines, Jackson was a member of the
Mortgage Bankers Association of America and was president of the
Foundation Trustees for Children's Families of Iowa, a non-profit
organization that provides services to meet the ongoing needs of
children, their families and their community.
