Camden’s first woman COO seeks advances in diversity as well as technology
Laurie Baker, chief operating officer for Camden Property Trust, is shown Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Houston.When Laurie Baker joined Camden Property Trust in 1999, most apartment complexes didn’t have a website. Without centralized information, large apartment landlords tediously called on-site staff for updates on occupancy or leasing at their properties. Prospective residents relied on word-of-mouth or print advertisements to learn about new projects.
“It became almost an imperative that we adapt overnight in order to continue running our business,” Baker said. Now many of these pandemic-inspired upgrades are here to stay — and the industry is bound for even more automation, Baker said. Q: The commercial real estate industry is still dominated by white men, although it is changing slowly. What are industry leaders doing to improve representation of women and people of color and why is this work still important?I used to walk into real estate events, and it was a sea of men. There are a lot more women today and we we’re making great progress. At Camden, I've never felt like we didn't already support the growth of women.
The beauty of Chirp is that it isn’t just managed at a property level, but our contact center could manage it across the entire portfolio. So, if we had to close all the amenities spaces at once instead of physically having to go and lock all those doors. Now when somebody calls our contact center, we can send them a permission via the app for 30 minute or 15 minutes. Kristy Simonette, senior vice president over strategic services, and myself were heavily involved in incubating this.
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