Tristan Walker is an American founder and CEO, most notable for starting Walker & Company in 2013, which was purchased by Procter & Gamble. In addition to being CEO of Walker & Company, Walker is a board member for Shake Shack and Foot Locker.[1][2] He also co-founded the non-profit CODE2040, which helps connect people of color with engineering internships.[3]
Early life and education
Walker was raised in Queens, NY and attended The Hotchkiss School, graduating in 2002.[4] He graduated from SUNY Stony Brook in 2005 and worked at Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan.[5] He went to Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Career
Walker interned at Twitter and Boston Consulting Group, before working at Foursquare as the third employee and director of business development.[6]
In 2012, Walker was the Entrepreneur-in-residence at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.[7] While there, he co-founded CODE2040 and Walker & Co.
Walker & Co. is the parent company of Bevel, a men's grooming brand whose flagship product was a single blade razor and electric trimmer. Bevel expanded into what Vibe called "a full-fledged beauty and skincare company for men."[8] The health and hygiene company was founded with people of color as the target audience.[9][10]
By 2015, Walker had raised a total of $33.3 million dollars for Walker & Co and board members included Magic Johnson, John Legend and Andre Iguodala.[11] Walker was nominated for Founder of the Year by TechCrunch in 2015 and in 2016 TechCrunch wrote "Walker is becoming, if he’s not already, a household name in Silicon Valley".[12][13]
In 2018, Walker & Co. sold to Procter & Gamble for an undisclosed amount.[14]
Accolades
Fast Company called Walker in a profile: "[a] bold entrepreneur with a radical startup."[15] The New York Times said that Walker "built a company for the demographic future."[16] Fortune named him #19 in a list of the world's 50 greatest leaders in 2019.[17] USA Today called Walker "the highest-profile African-American CEO and founder in Silicon Valley."[18] Selected as Time's 100 Next, Time wrote that Walker "wants to build more than a company; he wants to build a legacy."[19]
Personal life
Walker has a wife and two sons.[20] Walker's father was shot and killed when he was four years old.[21]
References
- ^ "Tristan Walker | Board Member | Foot Locker, Inc". investors.footlocker-inc.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Perkins, Njera (2020-06-19). "Bevel's Tristan Walker Joins Shake Shack's Board of Directors". AfroTech. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Meet The Man Who Wants To Diversify Silicon Valley By 2040". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "How Did I Get Here? Tristan Walker". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "The Face Of America Is Changing. CEO Tristan Walker Says Brands Need To Respect And Respond To That". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Guynn, Jessica. "Tristan Walker's inspiring journey to Silicon Valley". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Gillies, Trent (2015-03-14). "Tristan Walker aims to change the world—starting with razors". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ III, William E. Ketchum (2020-02-11). "Bevel CEO Tristan Walker Talks Growth, Regrets, And Combat Jack". VIBE.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "15 Questions with Tristan J. Walker". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Wolfe, Alexandra (2015-12-18). "Tristan Walker: A New Approach to Personal Care Products". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Walker & Company Brands Raises $24M Series B, Inks Bevel Deal With Target". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Meet The People Vying For The Founder Of The Year Crunchie For 2015". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Bullish with Tristan Walker, CEO of Walker & Company Brands". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Rey, Jason Del (2018-12-12). "Procter & Gamble has acquired the startup aiming to build the Procter & Gamble for people of color". Vox. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ McCorvey, J. J. (2014-11-11). "Tristan Walker: The Visible Man". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Gelles, David (2018-12-12). "Tristan Walker on the Roman Empire and Selling a Start-Up to Procter & Gamble". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "Tristan Walker". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Guynn, Jessica. "Tristan Walker's inspiring journey to Silicon Valley". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "TIME 100 Next 2019: Tristan Walker". Time. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ "15 Questions with Tristan J. Walker". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ McCorvey, J. J. (2014-11-11). "Tristan Walker: The Visible Man". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-03.