A Brief History about Ryan

Growing up close to the family business gave Ryan an appreciation for what his parents, grandparents, and uncle had accomplished at Walker. In elementary school, Ryan and his brothers were picked up by the school bus at the factory office which was next to their home. Once dropped back off later in the afternoon, he spent countless hours designing and building all kinds of creations (push mower, go-carts, snow plows, etc.) and ‘helping’ throughout the factory. Ryan attended Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL for college where he played football, sang in men’s choir, studied accounting and business and met his wife, Emily.

Before joining Walker’s leadership, Ryan and Emily spent three years serving with a mission organization in Alaska. There, they taught at a school in the remote village of Chevak which can only be accessed by air or by snow machine. During their time in Alaska, Ryan, a certified pilot and flight instructor, flew for mission work and taught an aviation class for the local junior high and high school students. A hands-on teacher, Ryan and his students built a kit airplane as a class project. Ryan still owns and operates that airplane today. The rugged beauty of Alaska and its people hold a special place in Ryan’s heart. He enjoys visiting when he can and serving on the board of directors for the mission organization he and Emily served with during their time there.

After eight years with Walker Manufacturing Company, Ryan became president in 2019 when Bob Walker transitioned to chairman. Today, he seeks to lead the company to continue innovating with excellence, creating the highest quality outdoor equipment products on the market. He also works to maintain long-lasting relationships with customers, distributors and dealers based on mutual trust. These long-tenure relationships are foundational to the company’s success, and reinforce trust in the Walker brand.

One of Walker’s core beliefs is to “always love people, use money." Ryan holds to this belief, and people truly matter to him. He enjoys meeting with new employees and spending time talking with and getting to know the people who work at Walker. Making people feel valued and appreciated is a high priority, and Ryan often takes time to communicate this with hand-written thank you notes. Whether he’s meeting new people at trade shows or visiting Walker’s dealers, distributors or customers, Ryan pauses to ask questions and learn people’s stories.

Ryan embraces adventure, and aviation is a Walker Family pastime. Like both of his parents, his uncle and his brothers, Ryan loves to fly. After college, he attended the School of Missionary Aviation Technology in Michigan, and earned his airframe and powerplant mechanic's license. He is a flight instructor and likes teaching others to fly. On weekends, he enjoys flying with his dad, his uncle and his brother while inspiring the next generation of Walkers to appreciate flight.

Ryan and his wife, Emily, have four kids. They enjoy spending time together camping and skiing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, taking an annual road-trip family vacation, and eating dinner together most evenings.