About > People > Robert M. Walker

Robert M. (Mike) Walker is chairman of Plexus Scientific Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia, a management consulting firm for the federal government. Mr. Walker joined Plexus in 2001 following a 32-year career in public service. He was confirmed four times by the United States Senate to serve in senior executive branch positions. He was Acting Secretary of the Army in 1998. He also served as Under Secretary of the Army, Army Acquisition Executive, Assistant Secretary of the Army, and Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Walker was an Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs when he retired from the federal government. Prior to joining the executive branch, he was staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations for 12 years.

Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, Mr. Walker was recalled to the federal government to serve on a homeland defense tiger team reporting to the Secretary of Defense. He later served as a member of the Strategic Review Group for the White House Office of Homeland Security Directorate of Prevention and Protection. Mr. Walker led the executive support cell for the National Terrorism Exercise Series, TOPOFF II, and was the senior player for the TOPOFF large-scale game. For the DHS Headquarters Operational Integration Staff, he supported the development of the National Response Plan, the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets, and the Interagency Security Plan. Mr. Walker is currently vice chairman of the National Infrastructure Institute, a critical infrastructure protection research organization. He also serves on the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

During his previous Pentagon service, Mr. Walker oversaw Military Support to Civil Authorities for five years. He led Department of Defense support to FEMA and the FBI following the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He oversaw the establishment of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici program to train emergency first responders in 120 American cities to deal with terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction. He created National Guard Civil Support Teams to assist local authorities in responding to terrorism. Mr. Walker led DOD security support for the Atlanta Olympics, the Denver Summit of the Eight, and the 1997 Inauguration of the President. He was instrumental in establishing the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. Mr. Walker was an author of the terrorism annex to the Federal Response Plan, which implemented Presidential Decision Directive 39.

While serving at FEMA, Mr. Walker was responsible for the agency’s terrorism and national security programs, including the continuity of government and continuity of operations planning programs. He was a member of the President’s Management Council and served as Chair of the Domestic Working Group of the President’s Y2K Council. He led FEMA’s interagency preparations for the NATO 50th Anniversary Summit. Mr. Walker also directed FEMA’s participation in the President’s Long-Term Recovery Task Force following the devastation of Hurricane Georges in Puerto Rico.