Mark Walker

Mark Walker is the current President & Chief Operating Officer at Velocity. Prior to Velocity, Mark was the Vice President Global Infrastructure & Chief Information Security Officer at Ashley Furniture Industries from May 2019 to October 2019. Mark was responsible for Information Security & Global Infrastructure for the world's largest furniture company. From September 2016 to May 2019, Mark was the Vice President - Information Technology & CISO at Extended Stay America. Mark was a senior IT leader responsible for all aspects of Technology, Operations, and Information Security for a nationwide 600+ location hotel chain. Mark was brought on to help accelerate ESA's new 2.0 hotel expansion program and to modernize the technology landscape in the hotels. Mark focused on maturing ESA's cyber security and data privacy programs. Prior to Extended Stay America, Mark was the Chief Enterprise Architect at Ahold Delhaize from October 2009 to September 2016 and the Director IT Architecture & Strategy at Delhaize America from February 2008 to October 2009.

Mark Walker has earned a Master of Science in Information Technology Management from Colorado Technical University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems Management from Colorado Technical University, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Mark also has an Associate of Applied Science in Electronics Engineering Technology from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. In addition, they are certified by (ISC)² as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Some of their coworkers include Ben Despain - Chief People Officer, Betty Ong - Chief Financial Officer, and Joe Ross - Chief Commercial Officer. Their manager is Greg Kiley, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.