John G. Taft
John Taft is Vice Chair of Baird and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining Baird, he served for more than a decade as CEO of RBC Wealth Management. He is a member of the Board of Directors and past chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), where he advocated for responsible financial reform. He currently serves on the Boards of Riverfront Investment Group, LoCorr Funds and Baird Trust.
John’s past roles include president and CEO of Voyageur Asset Management; president and CEO of Dougherty Summit Securities; a member of the board of directors of Segall Bryant & Hamill, The Clifton Group and Columbia Threadneedle Funds; Senior Advisor to Deloitte, and a managing director at Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood.
For more than 40 years, people have trusted John Taft’s perspective on the financial industry. His diverse industry experience includes 10 years as the CEO of RBC Wealth Management and multiple terms on the board of directors of the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, including one year as board chairman in 2011. In these roles as well as his writing, he has consistently emphasized the importance of earning and keeping clients’ trust.
John is the author of two books, “Stewardship: Lessons Learned from the Lost Culture of Wall Street” and “A Force for Good: How Enlightened Finance Can Restore Faith in Capitalism.” He graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, and earned a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Organization and Management.
As a member of the board of directors and as a volunteer, he has served a wide range of not-for-profit and public service organizations, including the Minnesota Business Partnership, Walker Art Center, Taft School, Breck School, Northwest Area Foundation, Minnesota Public Radio, Twin Cities Public Television and Greater Twin Cities United Way. John currently chairs the board of The Minneapolis Foundation and is an active member of the Itasca Project and Young President’s Organization.
Deeply committed to community involvement, inclusion and diversity, John credits his family legacy, including his great grandfather, 27th U.S. President William Howard Taft, for instilling strong core values that shape his belief that, ultimately, business success involves improving the lives of others.