{"id":"5e559c84-20e2-4db7-af59-988ae62ca122","slug":"tom-walker-droneup","name":"Tom Walker","bioBrief":"Founder and former CEO of DroneUp, a Virginia Beach-based drone delivery company he founded in 2016 as a U.S. Navy veteran. He led DroneUp to a landmark 2021 exclusive drone delivery partnership with Walmart, which took a minority stake and board seat, plus a 2022 state and city incentive deal worth up to $6.2 million tied to 655 new jobs and a $27 million HQ expansion. After Walmart ended the contract in early 2025, Walker was replaced as CEO by CTO John Vernon and moved to the company's board of directors; DroneUp has since pivoted to airspace management.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"reported","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://vcij.org/stories/virginia-beach-tech-startup-falls-to-earth","title":"Virginia Beach tech startup falls to earth","sourceName":"Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism"},{"url":"https://www.droneup.com/","title":"DroneUp - Drone Delivery & Airspace Management","sourceName":"DroneUp (official)"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-08T20:27:50.412Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-10T03:47:10.314Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"4a3c9e3e-eec5-45bf-adab-303e5445b07b","personId":"5e559c84-20e2-4db7-af59-988ae62ca122","companyId":"6dc76c89-c525-4973-9816-d4d5d3040cbb","role":"ceo","roleTitle":"CEO & Founder","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T20:27:51.223Z","company":{"slug":"droneup","name":"DroneUp"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"b4e5b769-e578-42b0-bb48-972428ea003b","personId":"5e559c84-20e2-4db7-af59-988ae62ca122","companyId":"6dc76c89-c525-4973-9816-d4d5d3040cbb","foundingDate":null,"cofounderStatus":"sole","stillAtCompany":true,"createdAt":"2026-08-23T14:33:24.937Z","company":{"slug":"droneup","name":"DroneUp"}}]}