WPM manages nearly 25,000 homes in the Mid-Atlantic region, so there’s always exciting news to report about our people and properties.
WPM Real Estate Management Names Karen Parks Chief of Staff
Baltimore-based WPM Real Estate Management announced today that Karen Parks has joined the company as Chief of Staff and a member of its Executive Management Team. The newly created role adds leadership capacity to support WPM’s continued growth and strengthen coordination throughout the organization.
As Chief of Staff, Parks serves as a strategic partner to CEO James Dahlgren, Jr. and the Executive Management Team, helping to advance company-wide priorities and coordinate work that involves multiple areas of the business. “As WPM has expanded, so has the number of priorities that cross divisions and departments,” notes Dahlgren. “Karen brings the breadth of experience and operating perspective to help us connect that work and bring the right resources together, while keeping our focus on serving our clients well as we grow.”
Parks brings extensive experience in finance, operations, technology, strategic planning, and organizational growth. She previously served as CFO of a company she helped grow from a startup to $100 million in revenue, 200 employees, and five locations before its acquisition. Her responsibilities expanded over time to include finance, human resources, IT, and operations, and she served as the CEO’s second-in-command. Following the acquisition, Parks moved into an enterprise leadership role, where she led a $20+ million technology transformation involving multiple acquired companies and affecting $1.5 billion in revenue.
“I’ve spent much of my career helping organizations build the structure and systems they need as they grow,” says Parks. “What attracted me to WPM was the opportunity to bring that experience to a company with a strong culture, an established commitment to its clients, and a thoughtful approach to growth. I’m looking forward to working across the organization to help WPM continue to build on that foundation.”
Parks earned an Executive MBA from Loyola University Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves as Board Secretary and Program Quality Committee Chair for Project Jumpstart and as a mentor to emerging entrepreneurs through local business programs.