J. Walker Smith is the Knowledge Lead with Kantar. Walker has been described by Fortune as “one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends.” He is co-author of four highly regarded books, a blogger, a MediaPost columnist, a former podcast co-host and a former public radio commentator. He has been recognized as an inductee into the Market Research Council Hall of Fame and as the recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Charles Coolidge Parlin Award for outstanding contributions to marketing. He is also an inductee into the N.C. Journalism and Media Hall of Fame and a three-time winner of the WPP Atticus Award for thought-leadership in strategy and consumer insights. He was a featured expert interviewed by Tom Brokaw for a segment in the CNBC special “BOOMER$,” and he was one of the authorities narrating the “Generation Boom” bonus content included with the Season 7, Part 2 “Mad Men” DVD. Walker holds a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.