[2] In 1984 Walker joined Sage Group as a company accountant and then held the role of finance director from 1987 to 1994.
In April 2010, Sage announced that Walker, had indicated an interest in stepping down from his position, which he had held for 16 years.
[4] The Financial Times reported that his departure would lead to speculation over Sage's mergers and acquisitions, which have been a key component to the group's growth in the past 20 years.
In an interview with The Times, the CEO of Sage's UK business stated that: "Acquisitions are part of our DNA".
[5] Walker was one of the longest serving CEOs of a FTSE 100 company, only exceeded by Sir Martin Sorrell at WPP and Tullow Oil's Aidan Heavey.