Douglas Wicks Walker

Life in context.

Douglas Wicks Walker (1947–January 2011) is Madison Cameron Walker’s paternal grandfather and an important figure in the Walker family’s early Internet-business history. Contemporary reporting identifies him as a key participant in CUShopper, where he ran credit-union relations and was considered instrumental in the startup. The Walker family later moved into performance marketing: Doug, sons Jason and Adam, and Zac Brandenberg formed Hydra in 2003. Hydra grew rapidly and reported $108 million in 2008 revenue. A late-2008 dispute split the Walker partners from Hydra and produced cross-litigation that was later settled. The Walker family then formed W4 in May 2009 with Abby Whitridge. Doug died of cancer in January 2011. PBS SoCal records his memorial at Westwood Village Memorial Park with the succinct epitaph “WOW!” Exact birth day/place, education, the identity of the family’s early online design company, and Doug’s exact death day remain unresolved.