Founder, Autodesk
Search every verified John Walker interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2025 podcast appearance, John Walker discussed his career as a business owner and longtime leader in Vistage International, an executive coaching organization. He reflected on challenges in family-owned businesses, citing an example of a CEO with seven children who wanted each to receive an equal share of the business, which Walker described as an arrangement that would not work. He noted that he is currently involved in community activities and traveling with his wife, and that he occasionally considers new business opportunities. Walker previously gave a 2008 TED talk in which he described a project to recreate historical piano performances by separating the performance data from the original recording. He explained that the process involved analyzing attributes of each note, such as how hard keys were struck, and using a Yamaha Disklavier Pro piano to play the data. Walker stated that the result allowed listeners to experience performances as if they were in the room with the musician, and he described the technology as crossing "the uncanny valley" in artificial intelligence terms.
“Let's separate the performance, as a thing, out from the recording, which was how it was made.”
“Yamaha makes an incredible thing called the Disklavier Pro that looks like a nice grand piano there.”
“We were able to cross this line, called the uncanny valley, in terms of -- artificial intelligence terms.”
“We look at every single note, and all the attributes of those notes: how hard they were struck, and how they were held down, and how you move the fingers. So we had to develop a whole new science of how you move your fingers.”
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