Willy was raised in Miami, Florida. He went to high school (Coral Gables High School) and college (University of Miami) locally where he majored in Finance. The majority of his family resides in Florida.

He started Banking in January of 1982 at the height of the recession when interest rates were at their historical peaks. He started at SunTrust and has worked at both money center banks and community banks. He has extensive commercial banking experience having worked at Bank of America, BNY/Mellon, Northern Trust and HSBC. He has diverse institutional background.

He has always managed Commercial Banking efforts. At times throughout his career he has worked in the international space banking multinationals and foreign based companies. The bulk of his career he has focused on domestically based companies. He has a deep understanding of the growth cycles of companies and their evolving needs.

Prior to joining Woodforest National Bank, Willy managed the Middle Market Team (i.e. revenues between $100 million and $2 billion) for the South (i.e. Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico) for HSBC. The Business Banking Team (i.e. revenues less than $100 million) also reported to him as well.

He joined Woodforest National Bank in November 2016, reporting to Derrick Ragland (President of Commercial Banking, nationwide) for whom he worked for while at HSBC. Willy was brought to Woodforest National Bank to rollout the State’s commercial banking effort. Since joining he has expanded his team to 25 employees in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Charlotte. The two Florida offices broke even in six months of operation and all the offices continue to enjoy strong performance serving a broad range of commercial enterprises.

Willy has lectured and participated in various panels over the years. Most recently he has spoken on NAFTA (Mexican American Chamber of Commerce), foreign investment into the US (South Florida Business Journal), Foreign Direst Investment (ACG) and at various corporate retreats on selling. Earlier in his career he was an Adjunct Lecturer at FIU.

Willy is currently on the Board of HUF having just completed his tenor as its Chairman. He had the privilege of sitting on the Board of Directors for Make a Wish Foundation of Southern Florida where he held the position of Chairman and the Miami Science Museum where he held the position of Co-Vice Chairman of the Board.

He and his family reside in Davie, Florida and works out of the New River Center on Las Olas which serves as the Headquarters for the Region’s commercial banking efforts.