“I couldn’t be more proud and excited to turn over the leadership of Walthers to Stacey,” Phil Walthers said. “She brings an enthusiasm and vision to the company that will continue to support our dedicated customers while helping to bring new people into the hobby.”
Phil Walthers has been with the company since 1972. He succeeded his father Bruce as president in 1984 and was elected to the Hobby Manufacturers Association Model (HMA) Railroad Hall of Fame in 2010. The company was founded by Bruce’s father, Wm. K., in 1932.
Stacey is a graduate of Boston College and earned her Masters of Business Administration at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where she studied best practices in operating multigenerational family businesses and entrepreneurship. She has been with the company for nine years, most recently as vice president of sales and marketing. She is a past president of the Model Railroad Division of the HMA and is the current president of World’s Greatest Hobby Inc., a non-profit industry organization which exists to promote model railroading.
“I’m honored to carry on the legacy of the hard work of those before me,” Stacey said. “Model Railroading is truly one of the classic and timeless hobbies. It transcends ages from the young child with his or her first train set to the adult hobbyist creating highly detailed worlds in miniature.”
Kudos to the Wm. K. Walthers company for this move. Thanks to Phil for what he’s done for model railroaders and our hobby over the past 46 years, and congrats for having more hair when he retired than I did. And it’s good he’ll still be around. Heck, four more years & maybe the new president will see that the company gives you a gold watch. And best of all, way to go Stacey for your part in keeping this legendary business in the family. It wouldn’t be the same any other way.
It is SO nice to see somebody who has paid a lot of model railroading industry dues and also has business acumen. (As opposed to only business knowledge not able to see past spreadsheets or this quarter’s results.) Of course, model railroading has changed, and will change, a great deal. Bit of trivia: I have a very early Walthers passenger car kit with an inspected by “#1” slip inside. I have been told that this would have been William K. Walthers himself.
It’s wonderful to see this heritage being passed on from generation to generation. Congratulations Stacey and thank you Phil for the vision and leadership through the course of your management that has kept Walthers the fantastic resource for modelers it is today.
As the husband of an amazing Systems Engineer and the father of an up-and-coming daughter who has aspirations to make a great impact in this world, I applaud Wm. K. Walthers Inc. for selecting a woman to lead the company. Whether people agree or not, I have seen the differential treatment of my wife in the engineering world and know it is much too common place an all industries and fields. Good luck to Stacey and Walthers.
Are you the young lady that did some of those monthly sales on the internet?
Congratulations
Congrats to you,Stacey. I wish you the same success as your predecessors,and trust you will continue to offer quality products.
I am delighted to see Stacey carry on the great traditions of the Walthers family. She will be a credit to her forebears and will no doubt help Walthers reach new levels of success. As the father of two successful daughters I wish Stacey all the best in her new position, and her daddy a measure of retirement relaxation.
So will Walthers continue to ignore “N” scale? It would be nice to buy some of the same cornerstone buildings that HO modelers can purchase. Modern Buildings in “N” scale would be real nice.