Profile: Walter Wickersham
There is a new face at 20 Park Plaza and his name is Walter Wickersham!
He is the College’s new senior director of procurement and he started on January 8. Since that time, he has hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped yet! He has been very busy reviewing the College’s procurement policies and processes, helping groups with their RFPs (requests for proposals) and RFQs (requests for quotes), aiding people with their P-cards, negotiating contracts, meeting as many people as he can, and hiring staff, among other duties.
Support and success are running themes that can be found throughout his professional and personal life. He studied theater set and lighting design in college. Not being one to be in the spotlight, he often worked behind the scenes to ensures each show’s success. The majority of his professional career has revolved around procurement and finance operations. It was his passion for the arts that drew him to this position at Emerson.
Wickersham spent the last 12 years at Boston University, where he most recently served as its chief procurement officer. In this role, he notably saved the university more than $12 million. Over the course of his career, he has developed a distinct approach to procurement. He sees his role as being an essential strategic partner who can help implement effective and efficient processes that yield sustainable savings and strong service. He is also quite excited to actualize our transition to Workday. In his role in Procurement, his goal is to ensure each staff member with whom he interacts has what they need to meet our mission by stretching budget dollars and streamlining office processes.
Professionally, Wickersham has an extensive and equally impressive national network. He is very active with the National Association of Educational Procurement of New England (NAEP) and with the Boston Consortium, where he is working to create volume purchasing agreements for area colleges. He also has served as the president of the Institute of Supply Management–Greater Boston.
Personally, he is originally from Long Island, New York, and is a Boston and Lowell marathon runner. His next marathon is the Beantown this fall. His patient and pleasant demeanor and sharp advocacy is pure art to witness in action. In his short tenure, he has already proven himself to be an invaluable member of our staff, a true collaborator, a knowledgeable practitioner, and a strong contributor to our collective success.