A big congratulations to our President, Joana McKenna, for being named one of Utah Business’s 2021 30 Women to Watch!

Utah Business says on their website of this award, “Though the first female recession has hit women hard in the labor force, there is no shortage of women breaking barriers and blazing ahead despite difficulty. Help us celebrate the women of Utah who are leading the way in business, law, education, and so much more.”

Walker Edison is thrilled to celebrate such a well-deserved recognition with Joana. Joana joined Walker Edison in 2020 and brought with her over 20 years of e-commerce experience in building global brands and businesses, inspiring innovative thinking, and driving international growth. She is a dynamic, people-first leader who has held several senior positions at Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart.

To see the full list of honorees, visit www.utahbusiness.com/2021-30-women-to-watch-honorees
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When we were sitting down as an executive team to lay out our company values, being feisty and persevering was discussed and worded in several different ways; being scrappy, never giving up, overcoming any obstacle, tough, and several others. It is one of my favorite values, because in life, I was taught from a young age that I am the only one who gets to decide my future. I would face obstacles or challenges, and people would try and tell me I couldn’t, or it was impossible to succeed. I learned that it is up to me to decide what is possible, not anyone else or any circumstance. If you believe it can be done and are willing to put the work in, you can make the unachievable or impossible possible. We determined as a team that being Feisty & Persevering was the value that embodied the spirit of never being able to be held back. 

From the very beginning of Walker Edison, our founders lived the value of being feisty and persevering, ingraining it into the very fibers of our organization. Walker Edison was just in its infancy when the 2008 recession hit and shut down so many companies. Our founders looked at this challenge and figured out where our product was still needed and how to get it in front of those that were looking. They synced up with our partners and found a way to gain better exposure for the items we had online. Because of this, WE saw growth during the recession and has not stopped growing since. 

Being feisty and persevering walk hand in hand. It means when challenges arise and roadblocks appear you find a way through or around, and you never give up. You team up with the other great minds around you, with your partners, and you find a solution. The Covid-19 pandemic gave us so many opportunities to do exactly that. In March of last year, everyone was forced to go 100% remote and thought we would be back in the office within a couple of weeks. Overnight, our routines, habits, and way of doing business changed completely. Our customer shopping trends changed and needs shifted with no warning to prepare. 

I watched as my team worked through these challenges and then the additional challenges that I threw at them saying, “Business/life goes on. What do our partners and customers need and what do we need to shift?” One team came forward with the idea that people were going to need home office furniture and quickly. We took this idea, and in the first days of being sent home we immediately reached out to our partners to get home office pushed to the top of their pages. As you can imagine, we immediately saw incredible results from that decision. 

Over the coming weeks and months, we continued to find needs and fill them. Even as more challenges arose, and we discovered people would be home for months and possibly a year, there was never a point where we sat back and said, “This is going to crush us, let’s pull back and be safe.” WE pressed forward and doubled down on inventory and put in place more promotions to help our partners with customer demand as people moved their purchasing to online. We continued to modify how we ran team meetings to stay connected as coworkers and friends while discussing the challenges frankly so we could adapt quickly. While the past year has had challenges in society, at work, and in all our lives, I am proud of the teams at Walker Edison and how we rose together to overcome our obstacles.
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Taking each new challenge for what it is, an opportunity to grow and become stronger, the teams here at WE have come together and continue to show the virtue that was built into the fibers of our company on the first day - WE are feisty and we persevere.

SALT LAKE CITY – Walker Edison, a leading provider of RTA furniture, is thrilled to announce the promotion of Lance Ferguson to Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Partner Growth as well as the addition of Alicia DeFinis as the Vice President of Partner Growth.

Lance Ferguson has been with Walker Edison for over 10 years. During that time, his leadership has impacted Walker Edison greatly and has successfully seen the company through a recession, a global pandemic, and unprecedented growth. Lance has helped to build out diverse teams and develop structures that scale for both the North American and European teams. His expanded scope in this new role will include supporting the sales strategy and partner acquisition goals for the E.U. while continuing to oversee the development of Walker Edison’s North American Partner Growth Team.

Alicia DeFinis will lead the growth of their North American Partner ecosystem, including partner development, channels, sales, and partner onboarding. Alicia brings global sales and leadership experience spanning ecommerce, technology, and marketplaces. Most recently, she led several teams at Walmart eCommerce, including channel partnerships, sales, and strategic business development. Prior to this, she held several senior positions at Amazon and Pure Storage, where she played an instrumental role launching hundred-million-dollar brands and developing and implementing new partner acquisition and go-to-market strategy.

This restructure for Walker Edison’s Sales and Partner Management team aligns with their 2021 goals to transform the partner experience, improve the customer experience, embed operational excellence, and accelerate growth.
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Joana McKenna, President of Walker Edison said of these changes, “We are thrilled to have Alicia join us and for this promotion of Lance. This is just a small reflection on the growth and progress happening here at Walker Edison and we are looking forward to what the future continues to hold for us.”


​About Walker Edison:
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.
 
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brittany Smart, Public Relations Specialist
brittany.smart@walkeredison.com

A big congratulations to our CEO, Brad Bonham on being recognized as a CEO of the Year by Utah Business today!

Brad has led Walker Edison with vision, integrity and compassion. His genuine concern for the Walker Edison team inspires them to push harder and take this company further. Thank you for leading by example and inspiring everyone to reach their full potential so that Walker Edison can reach its full potential.

Click here to watch the interview video shown during the event, and you can find the full list of 2021 honorees on the Utah Business website. 

As an immigrant and leader of a Utah-based company, I wanted to share some feelings directly from my heart: grief, frustration, and confusion. Like many, I’ve had a hard time processing the recent series of racist hate crimes against the Asian community.
 
I’m filled with grief that I need to worry about the safety of my closest friends and colleagues… having a genuine concern if they will be attacked while walking in their neighborhoods. The idea that my best friend can be attacked - simply because she is Asian - is beyond frustrating. I’m confused on how people can sit ideally by when hate crimes against Asians have increased by 1900% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
This past year has been painful for all of us. The pandemic has forced us to keep physically distant from each other. However, this physical distance should not manifest into misplaced anger, hate, or fear. There is no reason for Asians to be considered as a threat nor should anyone have to explain their reason for simply being.
 
Now more than ever, we must stand against racism, refusing to justify or tolerate its existence.
 
I deeply care about the immigrant community I belong to. I’m very proud of the impact ecommerce has made on the global home industry and how it has led to some of the biggest growth in home trends of recent years. Walker Edison is closely connected to the APAC Regions as we have long-standing operations in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and we continue to source key materials from across our APAC vendors.
 
Walker Edison stands against racism. We will continue to use our platform to speak up against hate; actively be anti-racist; and push for greater diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace, the global home industry, and beyond. Together, we can support the Asian community and stop the hate.
 
Much Love,
Joana

Happy International Women’s Day - today we celebrate women everywhere!

“On International Women's Day, let's remember that when we support and provide opportunities for women and girls to be equal, everyone is greater for it,” said Joana McKenna, President of Walker Edison. 

Walker Edison has signed the ElevateHER™ pledge through the Women’s Leadership Institute and is committed to increasing the percentage of women in leadership, increasing the retention rate of women at all levels, monitoring pay and closing any identified gaps, as well as establishing leadership development and mentoring programs for women. 

Our ERG, the Women of Walker Edison, is committed to encouraging and elevating women through an environment of learning and allyship. This group spearheads programing designed to foster diversity and inclusion for the employees of Walker Edison while giving women a forum to find their voice and be heard. WOWE promotes the presence of female managers and executives by encouraging and elevating women while celebrating their own successes.
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There are so many ways you can celebrate women today and every day. Celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness to bias and inequality, seek out educational opportunities, and elevate those around you. 

This year, we chose the theme “Level Up: Scale, Empower, Innovate” as the central focus for our 2021 company goals. This phrase encapsulates our vision to continually improve and push beyond expectations. Goals set around this theme will involve company growth, enhanced product offerings, sustainability, diversity & inclusion, and more. Each word chosen is significant to where we see ourselves in the year ahead. 

SCALE. For the past view years, Walker Edison has won awards for being one of the fastest growing companies in Utah. Most recently placing 4th on the Utah Business Fast 50 list. Moving forward, we want to scale our core business and not just grow. Scaling is the process and backbone that allows for continual growth. For us, it entails investments into category & product expansion, high growth-potential partners, EU expansion, expansion of our factories and distribution centers, and more investments for data, systems and technology. 

EMPOWER. In 2020, our theme was Engage, Empower, Inspire. We carried the theme of empower over because of the difference setting it as a company standard made. Investing into more training and resources will continue to empower our employees to reach their full potential. This part of the theme also includes goal setting, accountability, and continual diversity & inclusion efforts.   

INNOVATE. The future is bright! The rapid growth of Ecommerce due to the global pandemic has caused us to move up our strategies and future innovation plans. We are giving our employees the opportunity to solve problems where they stand and look for ways to improve systems and processes. This also includes innovation in sustainability so we can increasingly become more sustainable as a global operation. 
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As this past year has taught us, we can’t predict the future. Moving into 2021 with this theme helps us really capture the vision of the future no matter what comes our way. We are ready to level up!  

Last year I was lucky enough to be a part of putting our company Core Values down on paper and introducing them to the team as something we can rally around and use to drive decisions. As we discussed our thoughts and options for what Walker Edison’s values should be, our CEO Brad Bonham spoke up and said something I had heard him say many times before. He said, “giving back is at the core of everything we do.” We all agreed that “WE Give” should be at the top of our list. 

Walker Edison’s focus on giving back has been apparent to me since my first day at the company. After my first few weeks, I was asked to join a team that included people from each department who were working on a proclamation event for a Wish Kid with Make-A-Wish Utah.

The child loved dancing and had always wanted to be a Jazz Dancer. At the time I was shooting photos for the Utah Jazz, and so I was asked if I had any connections with the dancers so that we could have her proclamation read at a game. We were able to put together a beautiful night for this little girl and her family that included her attending practice and pre-game prep with the dancers as well as dancing during player intros! At halftime, her uncle was able to read her proclamation over the PA system and a video with her story was played for everyone at the game to see. Having a small part in helping this little girl’s wish granted was something I will never forget.

When I think about giving, I think about the leaders of Walker Edison. A few months ago, I was driving in the car with my 13-year-old son who had just started Junior High. He was telling me about how his school has Pantry Packs that kids who do not have enough food can take home to eat. He was saddened to learn that his classmates may not have enough to eat, but so happy that the school has resources to make sure the kids don’t go hungry.

As we continued our conversation, I told him that Walker Edison donates money every year to help Cyprus High School with their Pirate Pantry that is just like what they have at his school. He immediately said, “Brad and Matt do that?” He has interacted with many of the leaders in our company and to put a face to the donations for a cause he was personally interested in was fascinating to him. He started thinking of ways he could help because he was inspired by their giving attitudes. I love working for a company that the leaders are an example of doing good in the community and I love being able to share those experiences with my family.

Something that cannot be overlooked when it comes to giving as a company are the amazing bonds that are built among co-workers who serve together. One of my favorite projects we do regularly as an entire company is packaging meals for Rise Against Hunger. What I love about this project is we ALL get to do it together. Over the years I have had opportunities to work next to people who I did not know at all prior to the project (working at a growing company is hard sometimes) and now I have a good working relationship with them. By having these projects span across departments, open communication across teams and a strong company culture grows.

“WE Give” is now written down officially as Walker Edison’s number one core value, but it goes beyond those words. For me, every time I see our core values, I think of the experiences I have had since day one. I think of all the charitable service opportunities that have affected the members of our own community and changed lives. I am proud to be a part of a company that prioritizes serving others.

​Salt Lake City — Walker Edison CEO, Brad Bonham, and President, Joana McKenna, have both been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.
 
Both Brad and Joana were vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of their experiences. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.
 
“We are honored to welcome both Brad Bonham and Joana McKenna into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”
 
As accepted members of the Council, they will have access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help them reach peak professional influence. They will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum and at members-only events. Brad and Joana will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share their expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.
Finally, they will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team.
 
“I am honored for the chance to join so many incredible leaders on the Forbes Business Council,” said Joana McKenna, “The value of joining this community of business leaders is immense, and I look forward to the opportunities it will have to help me give back to the community as well as help add to the success of Walker Edison.”
 
“This is a great opportunity for Walker Edison as we continue to have accelerated growth as an organization,” said Walker Edison CEO Brad Bonham, “We are looking forward to interacting with other business leaders and giving back to this community as much as we can.”
 
 
ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS
Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.
To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.
 
ABOUT WALKER EDISON
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.​