Walker Sands Celebrates Recognition on Crain’s Fast 50
Mike Santoro
It’s been a week of exciting announcements at Walker Sands. Coming on the heels of our recent VP elevations, I’m excited to share that we’re celebrating another milestone for the company: coming in at No. 30 on the Crain’s Chicago Fast 50 list. The Crain’s Fast 50 recognizes companies that have achieved impressive growth over the past five years, and we’re honored to be included among so many businesses making a big impact in Chicago.
Looking back, it’s incredible to reflect on how far Walker Sands has come in accelerating the growth of both our B2B tech clients and our own agency. Over the past five years, not only have we grown revenues by 318.7%, but we’ve also introduced new service offerings, expanded our West Coast presence to San Francisco and Seattle, more than doubled our employee headcount and made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies 8 years in a row.
2019 in particular was a year of tremendous growth for the agency. We grew revenue by 34%, elevated a number of senior employees to VP roles to focus on strategic growth and expanded our Chicago headquarters to occupy the entire 39th floor of 55 W. Monroe. To close out the year, we underwent a rebrand to reflect the company we’ve become and reaffirm our identity as the B2B Growth Agency.
Heading into 2020, we never could have anticipated what this year would have in store. But in true Walker Sands fashion, we came together internally to support our teams and external partners. Despite the transition to remote work, our teams have continued to produce exceptional results for our client partners. From rebrands and website redesigns, to supporting IPO processes with successful PR strategies, it’s clear that no challenge is too big for our talented employees to face.
Throughout it all, our core values of “Learn, Support, Do” have shone through in everything we do, and I continue to be thankful for opportunity to be a part of a culture that was recognized as the #1 Best Agency to Work For by PRovoke and a Best Place to Work in Chicago by Crain’s for the 3rd year in a row.
Most of all, I’m grateful for the resilience and tireless dedication of our employees. It’s their consistent great work that has fueled our growth and made me proud to work at Walker Sands. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue that growth moving into 2021.