NOTABLES 2021
Leading Edge COFFEE BREAK
Tracie Parent
Vice president, chief operating officer, Kahler Slater 111 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee Keep up with BizTimes’ 2021 roundup of the leaders making a difference throughout southeast Wisconsin. At companies across southeast Wisconsin, notable executives are running businesses, navigating company restructurings, serving on boards, running marketing departments, and investing in growth throughout the region. The notable individuals profiled in these categories are nominated by their peers at work and in the community.
NOTABLE WOMEN IN EDUCATION
Profiling leaders who are developing our next generation of leaders. In this inaugural list, we honor outstanding women in the metro Milwaukee area who lead local educational institutions, including universities, colleges, technical schools, and primary (K-12) schools. They motivate excellence, educate and inspire the next generation, and manage their diverse teams through new challenges every year. Nomination Deadline: Friday, June 4, 2021 | Issue Date: July 19, 2021 Notable Marketing Executives Profiling accomplished women steering the marketing functions of their companies and nonprofits, while serving as leaders and role models in their workplaces and community. Nomination deadline: July 2, 2021 Issue date: August 16, 2021 Notable Women in Insurance The executives on this list are shaping their own organizations as well as the path forward for other women in the industry. Nomination deadline: September 10, 2021 Issue date: October 25, 2021 Notable Commercial Real Estate Leaders The brokers, directors, investors, developers and finance professionals on this list are among those shaping high-profile commercial real estate in Chicago. Many have brokered deals for and developed the city’s most recognizable properties. Others are helping to steer industry groups that are fostering the next generation of leadership in commercial real estate. Nomination deadline: September 24, 2021 Issue date: November 8, 2021 Notable Food & Beverage Executives The executives on this list are shaping their own organizations as well as the path forward for others in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, while mentoring the next wave of professionals and finding ways to give back to their communities. Nomination deadline: October 29, 2021 Issue date: December 13, 2021
To view this year’s winners and nominate, visit biztimes.com/notable
6 / BizTimes Milwaukee MAY 24, 2021
kahlerslater.com Industry: Architecture, interior design, strategic advisory services Employees: 122 • Parent joined Kahler Slater in June 2020 as chief financial officer. During the interview process, she had her last meeting with the executive team on March 16, the day before the city began shutting down. • In March of 2021, she was promoted to vice president and chief operating officer. • Parent got her start in the manufacturing sector, working in various accounting roles with Greenfield-based Everbrite, LLC before moving into the tech sphere as director of finance for Concurrency, Inc. and later an operations lead with Amazon. “I will always say that I grew up at Everbrite in manufacturing. … Moving into the tech space was a concerted effort on my part. I wanted to diversify my background and I couldn’t think of something more opposite.” • A Midwesterner at heart, Parent stood out as an out-of-towner while working for Amazon in Seattle because of her Midwestern niceness. “I’m very polite. … A lot of people knew I wasn’t from that region because I said ‘thank you’ and they said ‘you’re not from here.’” • Having worked in a tech hub, Parent says there’s plenty of opportunity here in Milwaukee. “I can’t think of a better city – we’re really close to Chicago, a short flight to Minneapolis and we have the resources to have amazing technology come out of Milwaukee.” • Parent has three children. An ideal weekend for her family would involve taking in the city’s cultural assets – the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum or the new Bradley Symphony Center, which was designed by Kahler Slater. n
