Peter Walker

Peter Walker was the kid who read his texts books before the school year started. He absolutely loved learning, as if he were behind the scenes when it came to how things were made. When technical magazines were delivered to his high school, the librarian knew exactly who to give them to, young Peter. He would eventually grow up to become one of the godfathers of cloud gaming.

Born and raised in Jamaica, Peter’s love of technology and country go hand-in- hand. His favorite teacher, Mr. Dyer, taught him advanced engineering, sparking a love of learning that continues to drive him today. Peter’s original goal was to become a professor, just like his mentor. He dreamed of inspiring the next generation of young Jamaicans, recreating that same spark he felt when he was starting out. Finishing at the top of his class at the University of the West Indies, he was asked to be a Professor of Computer Science, which led to a sponsorship to Brown University in the U.S. Peter was fully convinced he would work and build on this idea of becoming a professor and return home to Jamaica.

Five years, two master’s and a PHD later, Peter finished his journey in the U.S, and went home to fully honor his commitment to go back to Jamaica and teach. Sadly, when he returned home, he quickly realized the environment was not ready to take advantage of the skills and talents he had achieved. He taught graduate school for 18 months and made the tough decision to return to the U.S, landing in Austin, Texas. Here he would begin his journey into startups, using funds from his own 401k to create innovative companies the world had never experienced before.

The genesis of starting his own company in 2005 came while his son was playing his Nintendo Cube. While watching him play, he asked his son, “what if you could play this with your friends, and you didn’t need a game cube? They could just stream it from their computers and be in the game with you instantly?” His son’s eyes lit up amazed at the idea. The excitement ignited Peter; he realized he was on to something. His company would go on to pioneer real-time cloud gaming streaming systems and he would eventually sell his company to GameStop.

Throughout his many adventures and businesses Peter has touched, the heartbeat of what drives him is his continued commitment to give back to Jamaica and the Caribbean. Along the way, he has given back to the country that raised him. His donations have been able to rebuild network ecosystems, and outfit new science labs for young learners in Jamaica. Peter’s joy is giving the students of the Caribbean a chance to spark a passion for technology. Seeing a young person’s eyes light up when they learn something new continues to propel him forward, making his successes in life, Jamaica’s future successes too.

Peter thrives on being a groundbreaker in the work he does at Microsoft, and a trailblazer by bringing technology to his home country. Microsoft supports his mission to have a larger impact on amplifying the opportunities to improve people’s lives that are important to him. All while leading and developing a dedicated team and culture along the way.