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ManageMen, a business management consulting firm for the professional cleaning industry, today announced the passing of its founder and president, John Walker. John lost a valiant battle with an extended illness in his home, surrounded by his family. He was 70 years old.
A visionary, scholar, author, historian, educator, publisher and hero to many, John dedicated his life to improving the way buildings are cleaned. One of his guiding principles was to make sure that the world treated cleaning workers as first class citizens. This concept was the foundation for every book, educational course and professional standard he contributed to or wrote.
He founded Janitor University in 1993, a professional development course which touched the lives of thousands. “Cleaning is one of the things that are fundamentally human,” he’d say. “The difference between a ruin and building in use is the janitor.”
John spent much of his early career working for Magic Chemical Company, a Salt Lake City based distributor for the cleaning industry. He quickly worked his way up through the ranks to become the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, before going to work as the first Director of Education and Training at ISSA. At ISSA, John began developing training and educational materials, including the original development of its best-selling cleaning times series and an award-winning video series.
His extensive work alongside custodial professionals led him to the realization needed a better way to approach cleaning. So in 1985, John founded ManageMen and created the (OS1) cleaning system, a standardized system for cleaning operations that reduces waste and improves cleanliness levels and the health in a building.
Under John’s leadership, ManageMen grew to one of the industry’s largest consulting firms. Its expertise has been sought by some of the nation’s largest employers, including the United States Postal Service, Boeing, University of Texas at Austin and Sandia National Laboratories.
John is survived by his wife, Renae; son, Ben; and daughter, Lisa; and three granddaughters. Along with their highly trained and experienced team of consultants, the Walker family will continue to lead ManageMen and advance John’s legacy.
A celebration of John’s life is planned for December 1, 2018. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Los Angeles Habilitation House (LAHH) - John’s favorite non-profit organization.