Board of Directors
David M. Walker
President and CEO, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
David M. Walker is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (The Peterson Foundation). As CEO, he is charged with leading the Peterson Foundation's efforts to: enhance public understanding of the nature and urgency of selected key sustainability challenges that threaten America’s future; propose sensible and workable solutions to address these challenges, and; build public and political will to do something about them. This includes efforts in connection with selected fiscal, entitlement, health care, energy, education, and nuclear non-proliferation issues.
Prior to joining the Peterson Foundation, Mr. Walker served over nine years as the seventh Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). During his tenure as Comptroller General, he led a major transformation effort to improve the visibility, viability and performance of the GAO. He also led a number of efforts designed to modernize the accountability profession both domestically and internationally. As Comptroller General, Walker was also an outspoken and non-partisan advocate for addressing the major fiscal and other national sustainability and government transformation challenges facing the United States.
Before his appointment as Comptroller General, Mr. Walker had extensive executive level experience in both government and private industry. For example, between 1989 and 1998, Mr. Walker was a partner and global managing director of the human capital services practice of Arthur Andersen LLP. While a partner at Arthur Andersen, Mr. Walker also served as a Public Trustee for Social Security and Medicare from 1990 to 1995.
Before joining Arthur Andersen, Mr. Walker was Assistant Secretary of Labor for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs from 1987 to 1989 and in 1985; he served as Acting Executive Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. His earlier technical, professional, and business experience was with Price Waterhouse, Coopers & Lybrand and Source Services Corporation, an international human resources consulting and search firm.
Mr. Walker is Chairman of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee for the United Nations and a member of the Board of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Partnership for Public Service. He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, the National Academy of Social Insurance and an active member of various professional, public service, and patriotic organizations, including the Sons of the American Revolution.
Mr. Walker has won numerous national and international awards for outstanding leadership in several areas. For example, he was recognized as: the Outstanding CPA in Government (2002) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA); the International Stockberger Achievement Award (2004) from the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, the Austrian Presidential Grand Order of Merit with Sash (2006) for his leadership in connection with the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (2006); National Public Administrator of the Year by the George M. Romney Institute (2006), Economic Patriot of the Year by the Concord Coalition (2007), Government Communicator of the Year by the National Association of Government Communicators (2008), and Strategic Vision Award from the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Global Strategy Institute (2008).
Mr. Walker is a certified public accountant. He has a B.S. degree in accounting from Jacksonville University and a Senior Management in Government Certificate in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from several colleges and universities, including his alma mater and The American University. Mr. Walker has completed numerous continuing education courses in a wide range of fields, including the six-week CAPSTONE course for military Generals and Admirals.
Mr. Walker has authored two books and has written numerous articles and opinion letters on a variety of subjects. He is a periodic television and radio commentator and is frequently quoted on a range of public policy and government transformation issues.
Mr. Walker is married to the former Mary Etheredge, and they have two adult children - a daughter, Carol, and a son, Andy - and three grandchildren - Christi, Grace and Danny. Mary and Dave reside in Alexandria, Virginia on property once owned by George Washington. He is listed in Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in America.
The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
