Thomas Bidwell Walker Jr., also known as Tommy Walker, (December 23, 1923 – October 11, 2016) was an American investment banker, corporate director and philanthropist. A veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he started his career in investment banking in Tennessee and soon moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. He became the main driving force behind the Dallas office of Goldman Sachs, where he "not only established Goldman Sachs' presence in the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

" but also "led the initial public offerings for many of the most important companies in Texas."

Early life

Thomas B. Walker Jr. was born on December 23, 1923, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Walker was educated at the West End High School. He enrolled at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, but he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

and served aboard the . He was decommissioned in 1946, and he graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1947.

Career

Walker began his career at the Equitable Securities Corporation in 1948, first in Nashville and shortly after in Memphis. By 1950, he was transferred to the Dallas Office, where he worked until 1968. The corporation merged with American Express in 1968, and later still with

SunTrust Banks SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...

. Walker launched the Dallas office of Goldman Sachs in 1968, where he was a general partner until 1984. From 1974 to 1984, he was the only Goldman Sachs partner outside New York City to serve on its management committee. He was promoted to limited partner in 1984, and served in this capacity until 1999, when he retired as senior director. Walker was a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, the

National Association of Securities Dealers The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...

and the Investment Bankers Association of America, and former president of the Dallas Securities Dealers Association. He served on the board of directors of A. H. Belo from 1982 to 1997. He also served on the board of American Medical International (later known as American Medical Holdings), the NCH Corporation, Intermedics,

Sysco Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...

, Central and South West Corp. (which later merged with

American Electric Power American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest g ...

), and Riviana Foods (which later merged with

Ebro Foods Ebro Foods, S.A. (; ), formerly Ebro Puleva, is a Spanish food processing company. Ebro Foods is the world's largest producer of rice and the second biggest producer of pasta (its Panzani brand is a market leader in France). The company's head offi ...

). Additionally, he served on the board of the Saudi Economic and Development Company.

Political activity and philanthropy

Walker donated at least $100,000 to the Republican Party in 1989. In 1999, Walker donated US$2 million to the Southwestern Medical Foundation to support

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

and

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

research at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

in Dallas. With his wife, he also donated to the Hutchinson School in Memphis. Walker served on the board of trust of his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, from 1974 to 2003, some of which as chairman. With his wife, he endowed The Anne Marie and Thomas B. Walker Jr. Scholarship at the Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science and The Anne Marie and Thomas B. Walker Jr. Chair in Finance and Accounting at Vanderbilt's

Owen Graduate School of Management The Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1969, Owen awards six degrees: a standard 2-year Master of Business Administ ...

. They also endowed Owen's Walker Management Library.

Personal life and death

Walker married Anne Marie Newton in 1950. They had two sons, John Newton Walker and Tom Walker III. They resided in Dallas, Texas. His wife predeceased him in 2010. Walker died of congestive heart failure on October 11, 2016, in Dallas, Texas. His funeral was held at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church on October 21, 2016. On his death, Robert W. Decherd, the chairman and CEO of Belo, said Walker "not only established Goldman Sachs' presence in the Southwest, he led the initial public offerings for many of the most important companies in Texas."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Thomas B. Jr. 1923 births 2016 deaths Businesspeople from Nashville, Tennessee United States Navy personnel of World War II Vanderbilt University alumni Businesspeople from Texas Philanthropists from Tennessee Philanthropists from Texas Goldman Sachs people American investment bankers American corporate directors 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists