Management Team
| Name: | Virginia Walker | ![]() |
| Job Title: | CEO | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5345 | |
| Email: | virginia.walker@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Virginia Walker co-founded Walker and Associates, Inc. in 1970 in Chester, VA with her late husband, Chris Walker. Virginia managed the Operations and Finance departments while Chris covered Sales for the developing distribution business. As the company has grown, Virginia has held many positions within the corporation while raising her family. Prior to assuming the post of Chairman of the Board in 2000, she was Secretary/Treasurer of the corporation and Board member of Walker and Associates, Evergood Fabrication, and other divisions of Walker Group. Currently, she is Chief Executive Officer for Walker and Associates and operates out of the Chester, VA office. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Longwood College, VA. | |
| Name: | Mark Walker | ![]() |
| Job Title: | President | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-6391 | |
| Email: | mark.walker@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Mark Walker has been President of Walker and Associates since 1998. He has a broad range of industry experience in manufacturing, sales, operations and customer support. He formerly served as President of Evergood Fabrication, a subsidiary of Walker, which was sold to Reltec/Marconi in 1998. He also has a background in sales with Suttle Apparatus and BellSouth Advanced Systems. Mark holds a BA degree in Religion from Randolph-Macon College, located in Ashland, VA. | |
| Name: | Doug Leckie | ![]() |
| Job Title: | CFO | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5365 | |
| Email: | doug.leckie@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Doug Leckie is Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development and has been with the Company since 1998. Prior to Walker, he was a corporate loan officer with First Union National Bank, President and Board member of Burton Lines, Inc. and a Partner with the investment banking firm of Harrison and Hurley. Doug earned his BA degree from the University of North Carolina and his MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. | |
| Name: | Hal Sveum | ![]() |
| Job Title: | VP/Operations, General Manager | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5222 | |
| Email: | hal.sveum@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Hal Sveum is the Vice President of Operations / General Manager responsible for all daily operations and management in meeting the current customer and vendor needs. Hal joined the Walker team in 1995, brought 18 years of experience in the telecommunications industry with him to Walker. His experience in Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Installation and Customer Support was gained with industry leaders CommScope, ADC Telecommunication, and GTE Automatic Electric. Hal holds a BA degree from Concordia College in Organizational Management and Communications. | |
| Name: | Tom Kane | ![]() |
| Job Title: | VP/Sales | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5236 | |
| Email: | tom.kane@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | ||
| Name: | Lisa Smiley | ![]() |
| Job Title: | VP/Marketing | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5308 | |
| Email: | lisa.smiley@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Lisa Smiley joined Walker and Associates in 1989, working in Inside Sales. Her career with the company has spanned sales, proposals and contracts and product marketing. In 2004 she was promoted to the VP of Marketing. Professional awards and recognition include Alva M. Stokes Customer Care Award and the President’s Citation for Outstanding Performance and Achievement. She holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a native of Winston-Salem, NC where she is an active member of the Winston-Salem Junior League. | |
| Name: | Jane Brightwell | ![]() |
| Job Title: | VP/Strategic Business Dev. | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5263 | |
| Email: | jane.brightwell@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | As Vice President, Strategic Business Development, Ms. Brightwell is responsible for the development of the focus markets Government, International, and MWBE/Diversity. She returned to the telecommunications industry with Walker in 1997. Prior to that Ms. Brightwell had been Manager Customer Satisfaction World Wide for Sara Lee Corporation as well as serving in other roles within the textile industry. From 1984-1988, Ms. Brightwell had worked with the fiber optic start-ups of Celwave and DITEL which became Draka Communications. Education achievements include MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management’s Executive Program at Wake Forest University, MA from George Washington and BS in Journalism/PR from the University of South Carolina. She is the Carolinas Regional Vice President for Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) and has been board member of the North Carolina Chapter of AFCEA.She is an active member of Women In Defense Palmetto (SC) Chapter. In addition, Ms. Brightwell has served on the Board of Directors of Wake Forest University’s Family Business Center and City of Winston Salem Citizen's Budget Committee. | |
| Name: | Derek Granger | ![]() |
| Job Title: | Director, Outside Sales, West Region | |
| Address: | 7129 Old Hwy 52 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 518-339-0654 | |
| Email: | derek.granger@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Derek Granger joined the Walker team in January, 2000. Since that date, he has twice earned the Salesperson of the Year Award for the company(2001, 2002) and has twice earned top distribution performer for two of Walker's key vendors(2002, 2003). His vocational experience prior to joining Walker and Associates includes sales experience for two Service Providers and a management position with a local government agency in New York where he was responsible for the allocation of a $6M annual budget. He holds a BA from State University of New York, Albany, New York, as well as an AAS from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. | |
| Name: | Tony Dimatteo | |
| Job Title: | Director, East Region Sales | |
| Address: | 13560 Morris Rd Milton, GA 30004 | |
| Phone: | 678-351-8079 | |
| Email: | tony.dimatteo@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | ||
| Name: | Scott Stoll | ![]() |
| Job Title: | Manager, Inside Sales | |
| Address: | PO Box 1029 Welcome, NC 27374 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5432 | |
| Email: | scott.stoll@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Scott Stoll rejoined Walker and Associates in June 2005 to lead the Inside Sales team. A Wisconsin native, he first came to Walker in 1993 as Regional Account Manager in the Upper-Mid West. He effectively served in various roles including Director of Inside Sales, Regional Vice President of Outside Sales and Vice President of Sales. Prior to working at Walker and Associates, Scott spent 10 years working with ADC Telecommunications in Minneapolis and 4 years as an Independent Manufacturer Representative within the telecommunications industry. He holds associates degrees from Brown Institute and the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical Institute. | |
| Name: | Nicholle Britt | |
| Job Title: | Manager, Inside Sales | |
| Address: | 13560 Morris Road Milton, GA 30004 | |
| Phone: | 336-731-5438 | |
| Email: | nicholle.britt@walkerfirst.com | |
| Background: | Nicholle Britt joined Walker and Associates in 2009 through the Windstream Supply acquisition. She brings 13 years of experience in Inside Sales and Customer Service. She holds a BA from DeVry University in Business Operations and MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. | |
Item(s) in cart:








