Brian Walker is the Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer of W.W. Grainger, Inc. In this role, Brian leads the prioritization of Grainger’s technology investments including Grainger’s digital platforms, mobile solutions and the industry leading Grainger.com.
Brian has held many roles of increasing responsibility at Grainger. Most recently, Brian served in technology innovation capacities including Vice President, Digital Architecture and Operations and President of Gamut.com. Prior to that, while headquartered in London, England, he served as Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Grainger’s Online Business with operations in Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Brian has also led teams responsible for corporate strategy, merchandising and pricing for the Grainger U.S. Business. He joined Grainger in September 2006 as Purchasing Manager.
Prior to joining Grainger, Brian led teams in warehousing, logistics, supply chain and sales operations at McMaster-Carr Supply Company.
Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in Applied Statistics from DePaul University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Brian serves on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Board Chair Executive Council and is on the Board of Advisors for IIT’s Institute of Design. He has served as a founding board member for Wesleyan’s Quantitative Analysis Center and is a current member of Wesleyan’s President’s Council. Brian also is a Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University for their CIO and CDigitalO programs.