Biography
Mr. Walker has spent over 30 years as an entrepreneur and/or venture capitalist specializing in early stage situations. Historically, he was based in San Francisco, but recently has been focused on start-up opportunities in Europe. His main interest is helping fellow entrepreneurs get off the ground, and to that end, has advised and/or backed a new socially conscious investment fund in Amsterdam, a boutique distillery in Washington, DC, and a vascular medical device development firm in San Carlos.
Mr. Walker has been personally involved with or invested in a series of successful venture backed enterprises, spread across a variety of industries: natural gas power generation, clean tech, outdoor recreation, computer chip distribution, prenatal blood analysis, and telecommunications systems. Institutionally, Mr. Walker founded, staffed, and operated several venture funds, both for Hambrecht & Quist ($800 million for two late stage technology venture funds), and for Allstate Insurance Company ($750 million for a Clean Tech fund).
Mr. Walker got his start as an entrepreneur in the early 1980s, having founded three consumer oriented enterprises: automotive repair (Oilex, a ten minute oil change chain), premium cookie mix (Bear's Brown Bag of Cookie Mix), and window furnishings (Auréal).
Mr. Walker is a graduate of Brown University (Mathematical Economics) and Northwestern Law School (and attended University of Chicago's 190 MBA program). Currently, Mr. Walker is a Trustee of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (Kauai, Maui, Florida), dedicated to the preservation of rare and endangered plants.