Bill Walker has stepped down as general manager of FleishmanHillard’s Toronto office to work on his own projects, including writing a book about reputation management.
Walker told Marketing he signed a contract with a U.S. publisher and has about four months to deliver the first manuscript. He also launched his own communications consultancy, Midtown PR. During a transition period, Walker is spending two days a week as a senior advisor at FleishmanHillard.
Walker joined the agency in 2009 as senior vice-president and was named GM in 2010. Prior to joining Fleishman, he spent five years at Veritas Communications. Walker initially moved into the PR world after more than two decades with the Toronto Star, where he was one of Canada’s leading political journalists.
“I spent 23 years in newspapers and 10 years in agencies, so I felt like it was time for me to examine what the next 10 years look like,” Walker said. “By the time I reach the end of that, I’ll be 63, which is probably a little bit long in the tooth to be an agency guy.”
Stepping into Walker’s shoes is Angela Carmichael, who joined the agency five years ago and is now SVP, partner and general manager. “I’ve always worked very closely with Bill and he gave me a lot of opportunities to do the behind-the-scenes work the GM does,” said Carmichael. “It was always kind of a transition plan.”
Walker’s book is slated to be released in November 2014. He said it will not be a “how-to” on reputation management, as that’s been done. “I have some very strong views about why some companies are successful at it and why some continue to fail,” he said. “So I really want to get into that. I want to use as many real-life examples and insights from the field as I possibly can.”
As for his new consultancy, Walker said he has no preconceived notions. “But I do know I’m not looking to build a giant PR agency,” he said. Rather, his plan for Midtown—a solo operation—is to help companies navigate the PR world. “If a company wants to do an RFP or isn’t sure whether they need an agency in the first place, [I can] help them navigate the waters and give advice about how to interact with the agency world,” he said.
