J. Walker Smith is Executive Chairman of The Futures Company, a global foresights and futures research consultancy. Walker has been described by Fortune as “one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends.” He is the co-author of four highly regarded books, including two on baby boomers, Rocking the Ages (1997), a widely cited standard in generational studies, and Generation Ageless (2008), a contemporary look at aging boomers. Walker is also a regular columnist on marketing strategy and a former weekly radio commentator for a public radio show on cities and community life. Walker holds a doctorate in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.