Paul D. Willingham
Managing Member at Pillar Insurance Partners LLC

Paul started in the financial services industry in 1975 selling insurance to help pay his way through college.  He quickly became one of the top salesmen.  When a few of the insurance company’s local managers left to join Paine-Weber, a large stock brokerage, they offered Paul a position there.
Paul remained in the securities business for about 2 years until he realized what is just now being revealed...  that the securities industry is only interested in the bottom line profit for themselves and are willing to lie to their clients to get that profit. Paul quit.
He then moved on to Prentice-Hall, a company who published tax and law libraries.  Paul's job was to travel throughout the state of California teaching tax accountants and attorneys how to use the library.  He became well versed in the tax code, which has proven to be very useful in devising financial strategies for his clients. Paul’s favorite websites are: www.irs.gov and www.academymortgage.com .
After Paul felt he had mastered that industry, he was recruited by National Revenue Corporation.  NRC was the largest collection agency in the nation.  He enjoyed the industry so much that he started his own collection agency.  Paul found that debtors didn’t pay, NOT because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t have the money. So, Paul began to loan them the money.
That is how Paul ultimately ended up in the mortgage business.  He was offered a position with GlenFed Mortgage.  Shortly, he was promoted to Vice President of the Northern California Builders Division.  Paul felt he would be able to serve his clients better if he started his own mortgage brokerage. So he did.
!n 1995 Paul had an epiphany. He realized that his clients all had a multitude of financial elements at work in their lives and that none of these elements worked with the others. That was when Paul developed the S.O.F.T. concept. He wrote a book and began lecturing financial industry professionals.
In 1999 Paul grew weary of trying to change the system and decided to help those he could help directly. He opened a financial advisory with some 300 clients. He offered mortgages, real estate , insurance, retirement, and pre-tax planning consultation.
In 2009 Paul sold the Real Estate operation and decided to focus on mortgage origination. He was introduced to Academy Mortgage in early 2010. paul says; “ I tested Academy first. But once I saw how Academy handled my files, I was sold.”
Paul lives in Clovis with his wife of thirty-five years, Tandy, two mutts and the neighbor’s cat. His hobbies are history, theology and family.
Paul’s greatest asset is his ability to make connections by and between typically unrelated financial matters. By making these connections Paul actually creates new ways of getting borrowers approved and funded. He credits this uncanny talent to his diverse background and a keen desire to help people.
Put Paul’s experience and breadth of knowledge to work for you.

Robert G. Warren
Managing Member at Pillar Insurance Partners LLC

Robert is the Founder and CEO of the Pillar Financial Group. He brings 38 years of diverse experience to the team. His industry experience includes comprehensive retirement and investment strategies along with insurance planning in both the corporate and individual arenas. He is a registered representative and is the Principal of Pillar Insurance Partners. He enjoys a round of golf when time permits. He has been married to his wife Carri for 37 years and they have 2 talented sons and a beautiful granddaughter, Peyton.

Jennifer Provencio
Property & Casualty Agent at Pillar Insurance Partners LLC

Jennifer comes to Pillar with many years of experience in the Mortgage business. She has a Property & Casualty license as well as a Life license. She handles all of the Commercial business for the agency as well as personal lines home & Auto. She is married to her husband Matt and they have one son Gabriel.

Carri Warren
Property & Casualty Agent / CSR at Pillar Insurance Partners LLC

Carri has been married to Robert the owner of Pillar Insurance Partners for 37 years. She has worked in the insurance industry for over 10 years. She is a licensed producer and CSR. Her industry experience as an Interior Designer allows her to use her creativity as she coordinates all of the client events for The Pillar Financial Group. She has had many corporate and individual clients. She loves traveling to discover a trinket to use in a design. She and Robert have 2 sons. Justin is married to his wife Kailee and they have their only granddaughter, Peyton. Jared is with the Disney company working in Tokyo, Japan.

Linda K. Holley
Agent/CSR at Pillar Insurance Partners LLC

Linda has 30 years experience in the Property and Casualty field. She and her husband owned their own agency for 20 years. She has been a part of Pillar Insurance Partners for over 10 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to our Agency.