Duravant welcomes Chad E. Walker to the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel. In this role, Walker will drive Duravant’s global legal strategy, deploy processes to ensure legal compliance, and work with the organization’s leadership teams to propose and drive initiatives to propel the Company forward. Among his initial priorities, Walker will work to develop a more structured framework for advancing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives across the Company. He will also serve as Secretary for the Board of Directors and Chief Compliance Officer.
“As our business has grown in size and complexity, it is necessary to add this critical role to our Executive Leadership Team. Chad’s broad experience in corporate law makes him ideally suited to drive compliance, new initiatives, and focus on strategy across the Duravant family,” said Mike Kachmer, president, and CEO of Duravant.
Walker brings over 20 years of diverse legal experience from both private and public companies. Most recently, he was the General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer for Morton Salt, Inc., the North American leader in the production of salt for culinary, household, food processing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and numerous other industrial uses.
“I am thrilled to be joining Duravant and leading its legal strategy. I look forward to working with all our operating companies that are leading engineered equipment providers in the food processing, packaging, and material handling markets,” said Walker. “The opportunity to build a global ESG program and oversee corporate compliance for Duravant as the organization is rapidly growing and expanding in new and emerging markets is particularly exciting.”
Prior to his role at Morton Salt, Walker was Assistant U.S. General Counsel for McDonald’s Corporation, one of the world’s leading food service brands. Walker’s previous experience also includes time as the Deputy General Counsel for the State of Illinois Department of Central Management Services, and as an attorney for Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr (formerly Arnstein & Lehr) and subsequently Michael Best & Friedrich LLC.
Walker holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY, and a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, WI. He will be based in the Duravant corporate office in Downers Grove, IL.
