Willy Walker is chairman and chief executive officer of Walker & Dunlop, one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. In its first ten years as a publicly traded company, Walker & Dunlop’s shares appreciated over 800%, making the company one of Fortune Magazine’s “Fastest Growing Public Companies” and a perennial Great Place to Work(r). Walker has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and was named “Financier of the Year” in 2017 and 2020 by Commercial Mortgage Observer.  He is also host of the Walker Webcast, a weekly webcast focused on economics, leadership, health, and entrepreneurship.  The Walker Webcast now exceeds 7.1 million views, the podcast download is nearly 500,000, and it was a finalist for the 2023 Shorty Award.   Walker received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from St. Lawrence University. He serves on the board of the US Olympic and Paralympic Foundation and has been Chairman of the board of public companies, non-profits, and the largest municipal water system in the United States. He is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, Mortgage Bankers Association, and National Multifamily Housing Council. He is an avid runner, skier, and cyclist, and has run the Boston Marathon in 2:36.

Photo credit – Chris Descano