Highlighting our Leaders

Wy Livingston, Senior Vice President of Operations, Pulte Mortgage LLC

Ms. Livingston is our Senior Vice President of Operations at Pulte Mortgage LLC. She joined Pulte Mortgage in March 2004 and oversees the Mortgage Operations, Planning and Analysis, Quality Assurance, and Training departments. She also currently serves on the Pulte Homes’ Diversity Council.

Prior to joining Pulte, Ms. Livingston managed operations and service areas in several Fortune 500 companies including Federal Express and AIG. She has focused her career in developing, analyzing, expanding, and technologically upgrading contact centers and streamlining operations and processes. Ms. Livingston received her B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Denver. She currently lives in Castle Rock, Colorado and in her spare time enjoys all things "tea" related, traveling with her husband and reading. 

Why might it be a good time for women and minorities to have a career in homebuilding and more specifically at Pulte Homes?
I believe the playing field for the Homebuilding business will change significantly over the next 5 years. There will be a lot of contraction and large builders will move out of the pack and gain market share. That will naturally mean more jobs and a diverse need of talent to fill roles in the organization. Women and minorities should be poised to take advantage of the opportunities which will arise in the industry. Builders will need a variety of career disciplines such as: Sales and Marketing, Architecture and Construction, Customer service and Finance; just to name a few.

Pulte Homes should be the first place a candidate looks as we are in rarified air as a company who cares about its people, provides opportunities for all and plans to own this market space. We also understand the changing demographics in this country better than most and women and minorities will comprise a significant percentage of the very people we will sell homes to in the future. We’ll need a diverse workforce to mirror our wonderful customers. Who wouldn’t want to be on this winning team?

What are one or two leadership characteristics that you possess that have helped you obtain a successful career at Pulte Homes?
I’ll reference Pulte's established 6 characteristics of leadership and choose the two which I have found to be most important in my career. They are "Being Proactive and Results Oriented" and having "Character and Integrity." Being proactive and results oriented has allowed me to lead effectively through challenges because I rarely have had to work under crisis or in a reactive mode. That philosophy comes with risk; but I gather as much information and data as I can to help in my decisions and then move forward. The second characteristic is having Character and Integrity. “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”, is my motto. People know that if I tell them something, it is the truth as I know it and that I won’t lie to them under any circumstances. Certainly that builds trust and when your people trust you, they’ll move heaven and earth for you.

What tips do you have for women and minorities in our industry?
Don’t worry about the constant bombardment of info which indicates that home building is a white male dominated industry. So what? That is no excuse not to think about the amazing opportunities within our business and Pulte Homes in particular. Plus, this industry is fun...(SMILE!)
 
If you’re good at what you do, your gender and color shouldn't matter. You have to believe that. If you don’t no one else will either.
 
When you face challenges, don’t blame them on your gender or color. It is easy to think that sometimes…and sometimes it may be true…but don’t let that be your first thought.