Mark Walker is Chairman and CEO of TransLand, a Springfield, Missouri based trucking company founded by his parents in 1982, and now owned by he and his wife Mary ’81.
His business career includes five years of international leadership of corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy and employee engagement functions as Managing Director of Global Community Affairs at Applied Materials and Executive Director of the Applied Materials Foundation headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Prior to joining Applied Materials, Walker served as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way Silicon Valley, San Jose, California for six years where he was responsible for transforming the organization with new strategic focus areas that integrated with United Way of America’s new approach.
Mark has extensive experience in corporate government and community affairs management thanks to a 23 year career with SBC Communications (AT&T) where he served in Missouri and California (Silicon Valley). He is a 1979 graduate of Drury University with degrees in Business Administration and Economics. His post graduate work includes Harvard University’s executive program, Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.
Mark’s passion for community service has been an important part of his professional career. His current board service roles include Drury University board of trustees where he serves on the executive committee and chairs the Master Plan Implementation and Facilities committee. He has served 30+ years as a Rotarian and is currently a member of Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast. He remains active as a board member of the Cilker Family Foundation, based in Silicon Valley and currently serves as chairman of the Missouri Trucking Association. He is also a member of the National CASA board of directors and the executive committee of Traffic Insurance, LTD.
He was named to 417 Biz magazine’s Biz 100 in 2017 and 2018, and recognized by the Springfield Business Journal as the Top Local Executive in 2017.
Mark resides in Springfield, Missouri with his wife Mary. They have three grown children, Andrew (Springfield), Patrick (Atlanta) and Catherine (San Jose) and two grandchildren.