RICK WALKER - HIGHLIGHTS
Patent Attorney, Business Executive, and Entrepreneur
- proven track record in protecting IP and generating profits for shareholders
- over ten years as a partner in a law firm
- over fourteen years as EVP, CAO, and General Counsel of a NYSE-listed company
- member of a three-person executive management team that led growth from about
$100 million in sales to almost $1 billion in six years
- compounded annualized return to shareholders of approximately 30% before it was sold
- the company had 30 plants in 5 countries
Named one of the "Latest Generation of Atlanta CEOs and Power Brokers",
Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- Has counseled Boards of Directors of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
Directors included the CEO’s of CIGNA Insurance, Stanadyne (Moen Faucets), and General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
- Extensive experience in business and transactional law, IP litigation and strategy, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, hostile tender offers, start-up funding, stock offerings, and complex corporate governance situations.
- Guest Lecturer – Emory Law School, Georgia Tech College of Management, and University of Tennessee.
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell legal directory (highest ranking).
- Society of International Business Fellows (SIBF) – National Board of Directors, Vice President of Membership, Executive Committee, and Finance Committee
- North Fulton Bar Association – Board of Directors, President
- Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association (GAMA) - Founder, President & CEO
- Numerous non-profit and charitable Boards including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Georgia Golf for the Kids (benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital), and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) – Co-Founder of the Atlanta Chapter
EDUCATION
- University of Michigan, Business School – Executive Program
- University of Detroit – Juris Doctorate - Law (JD)
- University of Detroit – Master of Engineering, Engineering Design and Computer Control
- University of Detroit – Bachelor of Engineering (magna cum laude)
Process, Manufacturing, and Materials Engineering
Cooperative training assignments were with an electrical/electronics company