Walter E. Maxwell
Walter E. Maxwell is the Director for External Affairs within the Division of Economic and Financial Opportunity (DEFO) at the NYC Department of Small Business Services.
Walter is charged with defining and implementing outreach strategies to community groups, trade associations, industry membership organizations and local chambers of commerce to spread the word about the benefits of certification and identify companies that are eligible for M/WBE certification. He has been working with the city’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise program for nearly 15 years. His work has taken on even more importance since 2005, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed Local Law 129, creating a new Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Program.
Walter began his employment at DSBS as a procurement specialist. In that capacity, he assisted New York City based manufacturers and wholesale distributors in their efforts to locate and obtain Federal, State, and Local government contracts. His primary duties involved counseling and advice to new vendors on the public procurement process. Walter’s background at DSBS also includes positions within the Vendor Initiative Division, the Executive Volunteer Corps and the Street Vendor Review Panel (SVRP).
Prior to government service at DSBS, Walter had a fifteen year work history in Real Estate and Finance. He was a Senior Financial Accountant at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. handling a commercial property portfolio of more than thirty properties. Before that, he was employed as an Assistant Manager of Retail Credit Collections for Marine Midland Bank, N.A.
Walter has won praise from numerous Minority and Women’s Business Organizations and individuals for his strong commitment and the passion with which he carries out his services on behalf of NYCDSBS to the businesses of New York City.
