Walker McKay measures professional success two ways: in what he has accomplished personally and in how he has helped others to succeed.
Once himself a client at StrategicPartner/Sandler Training, Walker was recruited by Bill McCrary, its founder and CEO in 2003 to serve as the company’s vice president and, eventually its president. Together, they have built StrategicPartner/Sandler Training into a successful sales force development firm that has helped hundreds of companies and individuals throughout the state to grow and be more profitable. With Walker’s help, the company has expanded and opened offices in Greenville and Charleston. StrategicPartner/Sandler Training is consistently ranked in the top 5 of all of the 270 Sandler Training offices in the world for revenues and client retention.
Clients say that Walker gets extremely involved in their individual businesses. Hundreds of business owners are hiring better people, increasing margins on what they sell, and shortening sales cycles because of Walker’s coaching and mentoring. They say he gives them profitable and time- saving advice that they can’t get other places, and constantly challenges them to be better. Several of Walker’s clients are on the “South Carolina’s fastest-growing companies” list.
A graduate of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School and Washington and Lee University, Walker’s early career spanned all aspects of commercial real estate, including brokerage, leasing, development and finance. Before joining StrategicPartner/Sandler Training, Walker was president of McKay Commercial Real Estate.
Walker has an inherent sense of responsibility and a desire to give back to Columbia, his hometown. He currently serves as vice president of the board of directors and has provided mentoring to teenagers at St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing center for homeless families. Walker is a past president of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School’s Alumnae Board and is a graduate of, and a past board member of, Leadership Columbia, as well as a graduate of the Buckley School of Public Speaking. He served as co-chair of the stewardship committee and on the vestry board of directors at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where he and his family are members.
McKay and his wife Sally have two sons, Walker III and Mitchell.
