Executive Profiles
J. Michael RobisonFounder, Chairman & CEO Michael Robison is founder, chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based Lanier Parking Holdings, Georgia's largest parking concern controlling more than $15 billion worth of commercial assets at more than 300 properties in over 40 cities across the United States, Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Robison is named year after year by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta's Top 100 Influential People. He serves on the boards of Flexcar/ZipCar Georgia, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Midtown Alliance, the Buckhead Coalition, the Piedmont Park Conservancy, the Carter Center, the Atlanta History Center, and the Georgia Tech College of Management. He chaired the board of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) 2006-2007, overseeing Atlanta's $20 billion convention industry. He chairs the Metro Chamber Transit Subcommittee and the Chamber's Commuter Rail Task Force. Robison serves as chairman of Atlanta Streetcar, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization that created the blueprint for a $1.3 billion streetcar line servicing the Peachtree corridor from Buckhead to Downtown. He also serves on Mayor Shirley Franklin's Peachtree Corridor Task Force. Robison was named 2008 co-honorary chairman of the Atlanta Policeman's Ball along with U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson. In 2003, Robison was named by Georgia Trend magazine as one of Georgia's "Top 40 Under 40." He chaired the Andrew Young International Boulevard Revitalization Project and was the recipient of the ACVB's Member of the Year Award. In 2002, he received the ACVB's President's Award and was a top-five finalist for the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Small Business Person of the Year. Prior to founding Lanier, Robison completed a successful career as the Southeast Regional Marketing Director for Republic Parking System. Robison graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in management and in 2006 was elected Tech's Outstanding Young Alumni. He is a member of the Commerce Club and the Rotary Club of Atlanta. 
Timothy J. WalshPresident Timothy Walsh serves as president of Lanier Parking Holdings. Well known for his real estate prowess and operational expertise, Walsh joined Lanier in 1997 as Chief Operating Officer. During the tenures of Walsh and his top senior management team, Lanier has grown from 35 properties in seven cities to more than 300 properties in over 40 cities. Lanier's gross revenues have jumped from $6 million to over $100 million per year. Walsh was responsible for making Lanier the parking management company of choice for many of the largest events in the world including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, PGA Tournaments, Super Bowls, and national conventions. Prior to joining Lanier, Walsh served as program manager for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG). He was responsible for acquiring more than 200 properties for the transportation department's operations. He was responsible for day-to-day parking operations, which included parking more than 100,000 vehicles each day for 19 days of the games. Prior to his experience with ACOG, Walsh served as president of WALCO Services, a real estate acquisition firm and regional manager for APCOA, Inc. In both positions, he was responsible for acquiring commercial parking properties throughout the country. An active member of the Atlanta transportation and development community, Walsh served as the president of the Parking Association of Georgia and a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association, Atlanta Convention & Visitor's Bureau, and Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. A native of Atlanta, Walsh co-founded the Lanier Foundation, a fund through the Community Foundation, which directs money into local community development programs. 
Richard C. GrahamChief Operating Officer Richard Graham has served as Lanier's chief operating officer since December 2005. He joined Lanier in 1998 as the Atlanta general manager and then as the vice president of operations. Prior to joining the Lanier team, Graham was the Park Operations Manager for Six Flags over Georgia, where he led a team of more than 800 hosts and hostesses who were responsible for the rides, admissions, and guest services departments. Since joining Lanier, Graham has been responsible for managing Lanier's continued exponential growth while maintaining high quality operations and first-class service standards that make the "Lanier Difference." 
David A. KlarmanChief Financial Officer David Klarman joined Lanier Parking Solutions in July 2003. His background is multifaceted. For seven years, he was the CFO for a large public relations firm with offices worldwide. Prior to that, Klarman spent 15 years in the real estate industry based out of Los Angeles, California. During that time, he served as CFO for an international commercial real estate holding company that constructed and managed industrial office parks as well as commercial office buildings in California, New York City, and Washington D.C. As a member of Lanier's corporate support team, Klarman focuses on both ensuring accuracy and timeliness in the day-to-day financial operations, while monitoring and mapping the company's global financial objectives. Klarman is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds both a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting and a Master of Science degree in taxation. 
Joseph P. WenderothExecutive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer Joseph Wenderoth joined Lanier Parking Solutions as Executive Vice President in August 2000. His responsibilities include market expansion both locally and nationally as well as overseeing all marketing efforts for the company. Wenderoth has been in the parking industry since 1979, working in major markets such as Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago and Atlanta. Over the past 25 years, he has been involved in major development projects including Century City, Los Angeles, The 2002 Winter Olympics, Turner Field, and CNN Center. Wenderoth led the team that secured the Atlantic Station development in Midtown Atlanta. This innovative project encompasses 138 acres with 13,000,000 square feet of commercial, retail, entertainment and residential development that includes a parking structure totaling 8,000 spaces, valet parking operations and on-street meter enforcement. A native of Seattle, Washington, Wenderoth is an active member of the International Parking Institute, National Parking Association, Building Owners, Managers Association, Urban Land Institute, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and has served as President of the Parking Association of Georgia. 
M. Scott DiggsPresident, Lanier Parking of the Carolinas & Virginia Scott Diggs joined Lanier in 1993 as Lanier's first partner. He is the founder of Lanier Parking Solutions of the Carolinas and Virginia and played a key role in establishing Lanier's core values and its original operating platform throughout the Southeast. Diggs has successfully introduced and established Lanier in 19 cities in 15 years. Diggs has developed, consulted and implemented parking solutions for nationwide real estate organizations such as Trammell Crow, the Harbor Group, and for major parking operations such as the City of Roanoke, the James Center in Richmond, Virginia, the Dominion Tower in Norfolk, Virginia, the Wachovia Tower in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, North Carolina. Diggs is an East Carolina University graduate with a BS/BA degree in finance and concentration in computer science. 
Michael S. BrownExecutive Vice President Michael Brown came to Lanier in 1998 from Six Flags Theme Parks. Brown understands that parking services are likely to be the first and last impression our clients' customers have of their business. "We must manage all our 'moments of truth' so that we exceed all our clients expectations," states Brown. Building value for our clients and serving their customers in a professional manner allows our clients to focus on their core business. An active member of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Cobb Chamber Honorary Commander Alumni Association, Cobb Convention and Visitors Bureau and founder of Cobb County Schools Pebblebrook Foundation, Brown also volunteers his time with the Wesley Foundation of Kennesaw State University, the Kennesaw State University Athletic Department, and West Ridge Church. Brown believes very strongly in giving back to the community that has helped to make Lanier a very successful organization. 
Glenn M. Kurtz
Executive Vice President Glenn Kurtz is responsible for developing and marketing new services for Lanier that integrate parking and Transportation Demand Management (TDM). He is building a new long-term business model for Lanier based on providing overall transportation services that go Beyond Parking™. This includes the Atlanta Streetcar and Zipcar (formerly Flexcar). Kurtz comes to Lanier from the Perimeter Transportation Coalition (PTC), where he served as the Transportation Management Association's (TMA) first Executive Director. During his three years as Executive Director of the PTC, Kurtz developed relationships with more than 100 companies and properties and managed transportation programs that included discount transit sales, parking management strategies, shuttles, carpooling and van pooling, and pedestrian amenities. Prior to his pioneering work with the PTC, Kurtz was Senior Planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission's Commute Connections program, where he marketed transportation demand management and parking management to public and private sector employers throughout the Atlanta Region. Kurtz came to Atlanta in 1995 to manage bus and parking operations for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He has also helped coordinate transportation for the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Democratic Conventions, 1993 World University Games and 1994 NBA and NHL All-Star Games. Glenn recently chaired the Atlanta host committee of the 2001 TMA Summit, which brought together 250 transportation managers from across the United States and Europe.  Liz Wattenberg
Vice President Liz Wattenberg joined Lanier Parking Solutions in April 2009. Previously, she was General Manager of Lanier's joint venture, Zipcar (formerly Flexcar) since car-sharing's introduction in Atlanta in May 2006. Wattenberg has a wide range of experience in marketing, operations, and sales, as well as business administration. Having always enjoyed working to make a difference, for the four years prior to joining Zipcar, she introduced and promoted alternative transportation programs at commercial properties and companies in the Perimeter Business District, as Program Manager of the Perimeter Transportation Coalition. Wattenberg continues to work closely with many community partners such as local Transportation Management Associations (TMA's), Community Improvement Districts (CID's) and the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (ABC), where she serves on the board. She is an avid cyclist and long-time member of Sorella Cycling. Also, as a League of American Bicycling certified League Cycling Instructor, she has taught a number of Confident City Cycling classes to help encourage bike commuting. She is also a member of CREW-Atlanta (Commercial Real Estate Women). 
Kathryn Dunn
Vice President Kathryn Dunn joined Lanier Parking Solutions in November 2002. Her department oversees recruiting, hiring, training, benefits, payroll, employee relations, and workers' compensation for Lanier Parking Solutions. Dunn and her staff work closely with all Lanier managers to hire, train and manage qualified staff that can uphold the high standards of customer service that we expect from all Lanier employees. Dunn has 20 years' experience in the Human Resources field, including 13 years in the HR department at Six Flags over Georgia. As HR Director for Six Flags, she was responsible for recruiting, hiring and training more than 4,000 "Hosts and Hostesses" per year. This experience in high-volume, customer-service-oriented hiring and training make her an important part of Lanier's support staff. 
James W. Commers
Vice President James W. Commers joined the Lanier team in March 2008. He spent more than 25 years in the telecommunications industry leading Minnesota subsidiaries of several nationwide companies including AT&T, Comcast, and Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable. In this capacity, Commers oversaw all aspects of local company operations including the deployment, sales and marketing of advanced technology products, as well as all customer service, finance, engineering, human resources, and field services operations. Commers has responsibilities for both operational and business development for the Minnesota market. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. 
Valerie Vanderbilt
Vice President Valerie Vanderbilt joined the Lanier team in September 2008 after spending more than ten years in the security services business. She has held senior management positions in both business development and operations management over multiple locations and regions. She is also a licensed commercial real estate broker with experience and expertise in the South Florida real estate market. Ms. Vanderbilt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Lesley University. 
Marc JastremskiDirector of Loss Prevention Marc Jastremski joined Lanier Parking Solutions in August 2006. His department focuses on implementing policies and practices to proactively control the risk of loss within the organization and is responsible for the internal controls within our organization. The LP team completes audits to ensure that all operations are adhering to established policy and procedure. They also develop and implement best practices for asset protection and provide insurance expertise to the company. Jastremski seeks to provide a proactive loss prevention program that protects all assets of both Lanier and its clients, thereby allowing all involved to realize the maximized profit capabilities. He has more than 13 years of direct loss prevention experience, most recently with Shoe Carnival, a publicly held company, where he was responsible for the entire Loss Prevention operations in the southern United States. 
J. Mark MorrisDirector of Organizational Development Mark Morris joined Lanier Parking Solutions in January 2004. In his role as Director of Organizational Development, Morris is responsible for developing and implementing a wide range of corporate-level initiatives designed to enhance the performance, development, and effectiveness of Lanier Parking Solutions' human resources. These initiatives include Leadership Development programs, Lanier University, work unit redesign, process improvement, and change management programs. Before joining Lanier Parking Solutions, Morris spent 18 years in the healthcare field, where he held positions in operations management and sales. During his time in healthcare, Morris was with WebMD as the Clinical Operations Manager for a 75-technician cardiac call center and a 25-person customer service call center. While at WebMD, Mark developed the Policies and Procedures manual and New Technician Training program. Morris also was responsible for the creation and implementation of the Quality Improvement program, which reduced customer complaints, and he served as the project manager of an enterprise database and software upgrade. Morris graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University, where he earned a BS in Organizational Psychology. |