From early in his life, Adam C. Walker has shown the tenacity and perseverance that serve him well in business today. Showing early talent as a football player, Walker experienced an injury that hampered his collegiate career, but undeterred, he pursued his NFL dream. Despite being cut 12 times in two years, Walker earned his way into the NFL and managed to play for five seasons with two different NFL teams, even winning Super Bowl XXIX with the 1994 San Francisco 49ers.
“This path perfectly encapsulates the mental fortitude Adam has relied upon to drive his success throughout his entrepreneurial career,” said his colleagues. Once his playing career finished, Walker wanted to harness the drive that allowed him to excel on the field in an entrepreneurial capacity off the field and invest in and grow a business.
He began his business career with a successful sales role before co-founding Homestead Packaging and later sold his equity stake to purchase Summit Container in 2014 and ultimately Berkeley Contract Packaging to comprise Summit Packaging Solutions where he serves as the CEO.
Summit Packaging Solutions is a manufacturing and supply chain company with a mission to protect the brands of its customers by providing packaging solutions that can be trusted. The firm provides innovative, sustainable merchandising displays, graphic packaging, fulfillment and assembly solutions to consumer product group companies and retailers.
Under Walker’s leadership, the company has spent $3.5 million in R&D to improve the company’s technology and design offerings and has accumulated four total product and process patents. Over the two-year span from acquisitions, inventory accuracy measures increased from 72% to 99.9%, one-time orders increased from 74% to 99.9% and material scrap decreased from 11% to 2%.
Walker holds an ambitious goal to grow Summit to 10 times its current size over the next five years. “Despite this success, Adam is uninterested in standing still and he hopes to leverage the expertise acquired in overcoming challenges to further expand his business and disrupt the direct-to-consumer industry where he feels Summit’s unique skill in design and supply chain management will enable it to excel,” said his staff.
His efforts have led to multiple honors, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award that sits next to his Lombardi Super Bowl XXIX trophy.
According to Walker, the advice he would give to his younger self would follow what Proverbs 4:7 says. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom,” he said. “Get a mentor and sponsor early on in your career and enjoy the process of obtaining wisdom.”
