In 1994, Gretchen S. Wilcox founded an independent commercial mortgage banking firm, Q10|G.S. Wilcox & Co., in Morristown. It was, and remains, the first female-founded commercial mortgage banking firm in the country that is a sole proprietorship.

Fifteen years after its inception, the firm now represents 13 life insurance companies on a correspondent basis and services over $1.1 billion of mortgage loans. It also ranks among the top independently owned mortgage banking firms in the US. Q10 Capital LLC is the nation’s eighth largest financial intermediary with a servicing portfolio of over $17.6 billion. Gretchen’s responsibility is to oversee all aspects of her firm and to guide the objectives and policies of Q10 Capital.

In addition to Wilcox’s Q10| G.S. Wilcox duties, she is also involved with many professional and philanthropic associations. Wilcox sits on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the Jersey Battered Women Services of New Jersey. In addition, she is a trustee for the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, and is on the Board of Overseers at her alma mater, Babson College in Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1981 with a degree in finance and quantitative methods. Wilcox is also a member of Gov. Jon Corzine’s New Jersey Real Estate Advisory Board.

Wilcox, who serves as president and CEO of her firm, talked to GlobeSt.com about women’s role in the industry and offered some advise to would-be finance executives.

GlobeSt.com: How did you first enter the banking sector?

Wilcox: My first job after college was definitely over my head. I was in charge of monitoring construction draws on a $300-million project in Boston. The project was underwritten by Merrill Lynch, which asked me to work for in its commercial real estate finance department.

GlobeSt.com: Were there many other women in the field?

Wilcox: Zero.

GlobeSt.com: Has this changed at all?

Wilcox: Surprisingly, it really has not. In the 1980s, I used to go to the National Mortgage Bankers Assocation meetings that were held in Orlando or San Diego, and I would be the only woman there. Today, you see more women in commercial real estate on the leasing or brokerage side, and even as analysts, but there are still not many women in commercial real estate mortgage banking.

GlobeSt.com: Why do you think this is?

Wilcox: It might have to do with a level of comfort. In this business, you really need to be comfortable around men at all times. Your clients are men and commercial real estate owners are primarily men. And in my job, I deal with insurance companies across the country or local bankers and 98% of them are men. But I never had a problem with that. It was never intimidating. Plus, I went to an all-boys prep school the year it turned co-ed so I got a quick education there.

GlobeSt.com: What sort of inroads have you made in your career?

Wilcox: I am proud of the fact that my company is the only commercial real estate mortgage banking firm to be founded by a woman, and I am very proud that we are still an independent firm and that services over $1.1 billion of commercial real estate mortgage loans.

GlobeSt.com: Did you have any mentors who were particularly influential?

Wilcox: My father was very supportive from day one and I always felt like I had the support of the people I worked with. My clients were supportive, as were my male counterparts across the country. Truthfully, I was embraced more than discouraged.

However, I do remember that there were certain meetings I was not invited to because I was a woman. Also, when I monitored the $300-million Boston project, I had to report to the finance committee of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which had offices on top of the State Street building. I had to take a separate stairwell because women were not allowed at the Harvard Club.

GlobeSt.com: What advice would you give other women looking to go into the industry?

Wilcox: This business is a people business so it’s okay to be yourself. Many times when clients come in, I cook dinner. If that’s what you like to do, then do it. Just be yourself, don’t try to be anybody else.