David M. Walker  

 

David M. Walker is the founder, president and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative (CAI). In this capacity he leads CAI's efforts to promote fiscal responsibility and sustainability by engaging the public and assisting key policymakers on a non-partisan basis to help achieve solutions to America’s federal, state and local fiscal imbalances.

 

Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the first president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Previously, Walker served as the seventh Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) for almost ten years (1998- 2008). This was one of Walker's three presidential appointments each by different Presidents during his 15 years of total federal service. Walker also has over 20 years of private sector experience, including approximately 10 years as a Partner and Global Managing Director of Human Capital Services for Arthur Andersen LLP.

 

In addition to his leadership responsibilities at CAI, Walker serves on various boards and advisory groups, as a member of the Boards for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, as well as a member of Advisory Committees for The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Peterson Foundation. He is also a member of the Accounting Hall of Fame, the National Academy of Public Administration, the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Trilateral Commission.

 

He has authored three books, with the latest one entitled Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (2010), which is a national best seller. He is a frequent writer and media commentator, and is a subject of the critically acclaimed documentary I.O.U.S.A.

 

Walker is married to the former Mary Etheredge. They have one son and one daughter and three grandchildren. He and his wife reside in Bridgeport, CT.