Engineering business success whilst navigating Covid-19 - John Walker

The Blue Marble

John Walker held the position of President and CEO of Interface Europe and Asia Pacific before retiring a number of years ago. This leading quoted company in the world of commercial interiors with a turnover of over one billion pounds and seven thousand employees acquired John's services in 1988 with the corporate acquisition of Heuga. Heuga is a Dutch based company, best known for the manufacture and marketing of carpet tiles. John joined Heuga in 1972. Interface built an enviable reputation for customer service as well as winning a number of awards in the category of 'The Best Company to Work For'.

John started his working life as a professional soccer player, having played for England schoolboys, but was forced to retire from this sport following a serious injury, after which he pursued a career in finance.

He achieved a first place in the ACCA Accountancy Examination and worked in the motor and advertising industries before joining Heuga, moving to Holland with the Company in 1978 as group finance director. He transferred to Sales and Marketing during the eighties with profit responsibility for just about every part of Heuga (now Interface) stretching from Western Europe to Australia and Japan. In addition, he pioneered the opening of a number of businesses for Interface in Eastern Europe in the early nineties. He also helped to develop and initiate a strategy to enable Interface to become the first name in industrial ecology and a truly sustainable enterprise.

Since retirement, John has set up and helped to develop a number of successful businesses in the following business sectors: change management consultants, a nursing home group specialising in care for mentally ill patients, a company specialising in development of software products for the recruitment industry, a business to business mobile/landline communications company, a digital advertising company and a tennis centre incorporating a top tennis academy. He also advises several other companies and in a number of cases has been appointed chairman of the board.

He chairs the board of a growing company, which provides a performance improvement product and service to the NHS and is engaged in leadership development and coaching with senior management of a significant hospital trust.