Karla Smith

EVP & Managing Principal

Karla Smith joined SRS in 2020 and is an executive vice president and principal in the Dallas/Ft. Worth office. She was appointed to SRS’ Board of Directors in 2021. She specializes in big box and national tenant representation throughout the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and handles surplus disposition for various national retailers. For the past two years, Karla has been honored with D CEO's prestigious Dallas 500 recognition, celebrating her as one of the most significant and influential industry leaders in North Texas.

With more than 18 years of experience in retail real estate, Karla was previously with CBRE. She was a partner at UCR prior to its merger with CBRE in 2015 and has accumulated an impressive list of clients as well as accolades for her work in the industry. Karla currently manages new store site selection for many national and regional accounts such as Target, At Home, Macy’s, Pacific Dental Services, AT&T, Frost Bank, Grain & Berry, and Luna Grill. She also worked since 2014 on an extensive rollout strategy for North Texas with Sprouts Farmers Market, and expansions for Cabela’s, Lifetime Fitness, Pet Supplies Plus, Planet Fitness, Blockbuster, Fuddruckers, Core Power Yoga, CVS Pharmacy and Aaron's Rent to Own.

Karla is highly regarded in the industry, and her advice is sought after by many professionals. In 2025 Karla was a NTCAR Stemmons Service Award Finalist and was honored with the SRS Chairman’s Award. In 2024 she won D CEO Best Retail Lease of the Year and Dallas Business Journal Best Retail Lease. She was recognized twice by GlobeSt. as a Retail Influencer and a Woman of Influence and was included in D Magazine’s October 2023 issue of Women Leaders in Commercial Real Estate. She is a contributor in two inspirational industry books offering tips to professionals interested in entering the CRE industry, “Winning Ways in Commercial Real Estate” and “Blaze Your Own Trail,” and is an often-quoted resource for publications such as D CEO and the Dallas Business Journal. Locally, Karla is a sales leader at SRS, leading the Dallas Ft. Worth office and frequently in the Top 10 of tenant reps throughout SRS’ 29 offices. She has been selected as a Power Broker by Real Estate Forum and chosen as one of D CEO’s Best Commercial Real Estate Brokers numerous times. Her lease for Target in Preston Center in Dallas, a particularly complex location with unique issues, won D CEO’s 2018 Best Retail Deal for Dallas, and she was regularly recognized as a top broker by CBRE and UCR during her tenure.

Karla is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas and is involved with many industry organizations. She has served as an ICSC Texas Programs Committee Chair, the Retail Committee Chair, and on the executive board for NTCAR. She is an advocate for the next generation in CRE and dedicates time and energy to mentoring and supporting upcoming sales professionals in real estate. She leads SRS’ SOAR program, a companywide community for women in brokerage focused on support, opportunity, advancement, and relationships and is also a co-founding member of Deals in Heels, a local networking group of professional women in retail real estate that educates and encourages the growth of women in the industry. In her free time, she enjoys spending time at the lake with family and friends and giving back to the community through organizations such as Arise Africa, the Salvation Army, Our Friends Place, and New Friends New Life, an organization dedicated to fighting exploitation and human trafficking. 

Notable client relationships include:

• Pacific Dental - Since 2005
• Target - Since 2007
• Macy's - Since 2015
• At Home - Since 2017
• Frost Bank - Since 2018
• AT&T - Since 2018