In this episode of The Distribution, host Brandon Sedloff sits down with Wade Madden, CEO of Olympus Property, for a deep dive into operational excellence and culture-driven leadership in multifamily real estate. Wade shares how his background in risk management and entrepreneurship shaped his disciplined yet people-first approach to scaling Olympus into one of the largest vertically integrated owner-operators in the country. He unpacks how being “operator first” translates into performance, why culture is a true driver of alpha, and how technology and AI are augmenting—not replacing—the human element that powers great property management.
They discuss:
• How Olympus scaled to 36,000 units and $9B in assets through a people-first operating model
• The role of servant leadership and company culture in creating lasting operational alpha
• Why bottom-up budgeting and direct feedback from property teams drive better performance
• How Olympus integrates AI and technology to empower, not replace, on-site teams
• Lessons from partnering with the Ritz-Carlton to elevate customer service across the portfolio
• The current state of multifamily fundamentals, supply trends, and the outlook for 2026
Links:
Wade on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wade-madden-73444646/
Olympus Property - https://www.olympusproperty.com/
Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/
Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:40) - Wade’s background and career
(00:04:07) - Scaling Olympus Property: Operations and growth
(00:11:13) - Capital structure and investment strategy
(00:16:13) - Operational excellence and team culture
(00:28:34) - Staffing challenges in property management
(00:29:33) - Vertical integration and control
(00:30:17) - The importance of company culture
(00:34:19) - Leveraging AI in property management
(00:39:57) - Customer service excellence with Ritz-Carlton
(00:47:48) - Market trends and future outlook
(00:57:55) - Conclusion and contact information
