Our Founder
Margaret Whelan
An Industry Expert
Margaret graduated from the University College of Dublin in 1994 with an honors Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and started her career in the equity research department at Merrill Lynch. From 1997 to 2007, she worked at UBS as a Managing Director and Institutional Investor All-America stock analyst covering more than 30 stocks including homebuilders, manufacturers and retailers. She also served as the Global Head of Housing Research.
From 2007 to 2013 Whelan was a Managing Director and senior coverage partner in the Real Estate and Lodging group within the investment bank at JPMorgan. She advised clients on strategic and capital initiatives through the housing industry’s biggest boom and subsequent downturn.
In 2014, Margaret founded Whelan Advisory to offer a highly tailored and transparent approach to investment banking for owners and founders of homebuilding and construction companies.
As an industry expert, she leverages deep knowledge of relevant drivers, participants, valuation, and financing alternatives. Over the last 25 years, she has participated in financing transactions representing $30+ billion in capital raised.
Whelan Advisory’s unique process
Margaret is passionate about the opportunities for innovation across the U.S. housing industry. Her firm has recently advised and raised capital for several of the more progressive companies in the industry including Castlerock Communities, Resicap, and McStain Neighborhoods.
A Trusted Resource
She is frequently featured as a keynote speaker on capital raising and mergers and acquisitions at industry events hosted by leading organizations including the International Builders’ Show, Urban Land Institute, National Association of Homebuilders, Bloomberg, IMN and Wells Fargo.
Whelan is a trusted resource for the media, called upon by top publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg for commentary and expertise.
The First and Only Female
Margaret has served as an independent director on several public company and SPAC boards. In 2015, at age 42, Whelan was appointed to the original board of NYSE: BLD on its Initial Public Offering as its first and only female director, and as such was one of the youngest non-executive NYSE directors. Since that time she has guided many companies on recruiting female directors, in particular, female financial experts as defined by Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Whelan’s Personal Board Experience
2020 – 2022
PropTech Investment Corp (Nasdaq: PTICU), Independent Director & Audit Committee Chair, successfully merged with Renter’s Warehouse in December, 2022.
2020 – 2021
Porch.com (Nasdaq: PRCH), Independent Director, member of Audit and Compensation Committees
2019 – 2020
PropTech Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: PTACU), Independent Director & Audit Committee Chair, successfully merged with Porch.com in December, 2020.
2017 – 2020
Mattamy Homes, Independent Director
2015 – 2019
TopBuild (NYSE: BLD), Independent Director, member of Audit, Nominating & Governance, Organization & Compensation Committees
Philanthropy & Purpose
The opportunity to leverage professional experience and success through philanthropy and practical support is important to us. From housing related mentorship programs and charities, to guiding local non-profits on strategy, growth and financing alternatives, we add value to our communities.
Margaret has been on the board of Amber Waves Farm since 2016, and has been supporting the two female professional farmers who founded this non-profit for over a decade. Her passion for this particular group is driven by the farm’s mission to enable other female farmers through their annual apprenticeship program, to promote sustainable farming and responsible land use, and to reduce food insecurity for families in need on the east end of Long Island where she loves to spend time with her family.
Women’s Housing Leadership Group
Spotlight on industry leader – Margaret Whelan, Founder & CEO of Whelan Advisory Capital Markets
How long have you been in homebuilding?
I started my career in investment banking for homebuilder clients in the 1990s, so nearly 30 years!
To what do you credit your career success?
Grit. I’ve been a competitive sailor since my childhood. It’s a gender-neutral sport, and more than anything else, sailing teaches you the life skills needed to expect the unexpected. Anything can happen on the water, and anything can happen when you’re working in a lumpy business in a cyclical industry! You need grit to stick with it and find the right path forward.
As a woman, what advantages and disadvantages have you experienced in climbing up through your career?
I don’t think about gender. My mindset has always been to focus on being useful to my colleagues or to my clients, and this has served me well. Character and integrity are just as important as capability; we all want to work with people we can trust. It’s important to build a personal brand and reputation.
How have you dealt with the unique challenges women face in the workplace?
I haven’t noticed any unique challenges. Work is hard, life is hard - you pick your “hard”. I’m very grateful for meaningful work and a career in an industry that I’m so passionate about. I’ve also surrounded myself with smart people; if women have to prove ourselves more, then it’s important we figure out how to work smarter versus harder.
What is something you would like to change/be a part of changing?
Homebuilding is very slow to innovate, so we are at risk of being disrupted in the same way that many other industries have been. This is both a risk and an opportunity. I love representing successful entrepreneurs with innovative business models. I believe that the affordability and labor challenges in housing could be resolved if we had more efficient processes, which would reduce the waste and improvisation on job sites, both of which are expensive to the consumer. We need more diverse thought leadership, from the highest ranks, to make this happen. I’m a board member of the Housing Innovation Alliance which is driving great change in this regard.
What’s the best (or worst) career advice you ever received?
Best advice is to ‘stay positive’, which can be applied to any aspect of life. Also, I never take anything personally.
What do you see as the greatest opportunities for women (in our industry)
Women make the majority of home purchase decisions, so it’s surprising that so much of the leadership in our industry is male. But there have been a lot of successful role models to watch, such as Sheryl Palmer, Chairman, and CEO of a NYSE listed homebuilder. My company is certified as a WBENC, and we’re also a broker dealer, we are one of the only woman-owned and founder-led broker dealers on Wall Street. The opportunities are there, but women definitely have to be smarter to achieve them.
There’s also been a lot of affirmative action over the last few years, including much needed quotas to put more women in corporate board positions. Young people entering the workforce are very well informed, they can easily research the leadership of a potential employer and decide if that company is going to be a good fit for them. Our industry has a PMS problem (pale, male, stale), so attracting the right talent is the most exciting opportunity.
What’s the best way to advocate for yourself in the workplace (whether it’s for a promotion, a salary raise, or more responsibilities)?
Your work speaks for itself, but if you’re in an environment where you’re not being appreciated or finding opportunities then don’t be afraid to move on. I’ve always had a personal board of directors; people I rely on and trust when I need career advice.
What advice do you have for younger women in the workplace?
Be self aware. Nobody can evaluate themselves so surround yourself with mentors and sponsors who will challenge you to improve. Mental health is really important, figure out what helps you to stay sane and make time for it. I love to work out with my family or walk my dog. Don’t take anything too seriously, rebounding efficiently is a key to career success. Live and learn.
How do you manage work-life balance?
There is no balance! I think of life, and careers especially, as chapters, sometimes are going to be longer than others. But the most valuable choice I’ve made is in a life partner who would support my career aspirations. My husband is a full-time parent and fully committed to raising our four children. We are a great team and I love being a professional role model for our children.
What do you think that WHLG can do to advance the mission/women in our industry?
Networking and finding peers are so important to career success. WHLG helps its members in so many ways, but in particular to feel like we belong and have an important role in the industry, and to support each other. I also enjoy the sessions with successful professionals who share their backgrounds and career tips.
What’s the craziest job you ever had
Teaching young kids to sail when I was a teenager growing up in Ireland. They don’t listen well and it’s a risky sport. It prepared me well for my current role advising entrepreneurial CEOs!
Favorite book… movie…
I’m an avid reader and read a couple of books each month. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is an oldie but a goodie, in particular #7: ‘sharpen the saw’. To stay relevant, we all need to be learning as fast as the world is changing. If I’m on a long flight and the movie Wall Street is available, I can’t pass it up, makes me laugh every time.
What is something that people don’t know about you
Well, I don’t know, but maybe there are some answers for the readers of this interview.