For Titanium Exec, Flexibility Is Elemental

By Michelle M. Falck

Flexibility and diversity of skills are critical assets in today’s market economy, and Henri LeJacques Parks ’99 has those in abundance.

Parks came to Old Dominion from Atlanta to study biology with the intention of continuing on to medical school. But intentions make for poor road pavers. Part-time work singing background music and his sister’s connections as an entertainment attorney landed him a job doing concert promotions for several artists, which led to work in product placement, video and eventually full-fledged marketing.

In 2000 Parks created Titanium Productions Inc., a Hampton Roads-based company that continues to serve clients in the entertainment industry – currently it is promoting the new BET reality show “Tiny & Toya” – but that also has such wide-ranging clients as the Virginia Housing and Development Authority, the U.S. Army and the Port of Virginia.

Despite straying from his academic roots professionally, Parks acknowledges the critical role ODU, and education in general, has played in his life and touts its importance when speaking publicly. “[In college] you learn how to prepare yourself by studying and to think critically,” he said. “Education has taught me it’s the process that counts, to think outside the box … to see the difference between perception and reality.”

A member of the ODU Alumni Association board of directors, Parks said he is grateful to biology professors Ralph Stevens and Nancy Wade for their influence, challenging him and teaching him to push himself when faced with obstacles. Outside the classroom, the experience of rooming with an international student and the diversity of the campus community taught him tolerance and to better appreciate cultural differences.

In the end, the education, skills and experiences he gained at ODU have served Parks well along his path to success. “No matter how you envision or plan your life, be flexible,” he advises. “Success may not come the way you anticipated.”