According to her staff, people rally with Tracie Parent, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Kahler Slater. “Tracie Parent has been instrumental in the growth of Kahler Slater in terms of implementing results-driven financial and operational processes, empowering staff growth and development, and championing firm culture initiatives like our evergreen DEI commitment,” said her colleagues. “Tracie is an active and supportive go-to leader who puts her words into action while also making space for many others to grow and have a voice.”
Kahler Slater’s mission is to enrich lives and achieve powerful results by leveraging design, branding, and strategy to advance each client’s strategic goals, accelerate progress, and deliver transformation for their organizations. The data-driven process means the company identifies strategic goals, defines metrics and then designs for change.
Since joining the company in 2020, Parent has offered a fresh perspective to drive key internal initiatives for the century-old design firm. In her first year, she helped to spearhead a chief executive officer leadership transition, navigating the company through the pandemic and guiding a new 5-year firm strategic planning process.
“Under her guidance, she has effectively led and steered the process by balancing intellectual skill, new tool development, both industry and external perspectives, and a calm, engaging communication style that fosters accountability and encourages active participation,” said her staff. “This new approach to firm-wide budgeting and business planning has yielded an increase in positive staff engagement, solid business plan progress, and improved firm financial performance.”
As chief financial officer, Parent has been instrumental in increasing revenue by 25% with only a 12% increase in team members. Her efforts led to recognition as the chief financial officer of the year by the Milwaukee Business Journal. Kahler Slater’s DEI committee has grown under her leadership in both team members and initiatives, which has led the efforts to be recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Wisconsin chapter as well as Wisco NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects).
According to Parent, she is proud that she did not follow a conventional path to become the leader she is today. “I embraced risks and seized opportunities while remaining true to who I am,” she said. “My greatest growth has come from the challenges I have faced personally and professionally, and I encourage myself and those around me to practice patience and authenticity through all phases of career development.”
As a leader, Parent said it is crucial to connect to the “why” – the purpose that initially drove the team to grow the firm into what it is today. “I have experienced that passion is best fostered in a collaborative and positive environment where we encourage innovation, calculated risk and adaption to change,” said Parent. “It is important to celebrate wins, both big and small, to keep everyone energized and moving forward.”
