John Taft

Executive in Residence

Vice Chair, Baird

John Taft is Vice Chairman 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 with nearly 2,000 financial advisors and over $280
billion in assets. He is a past chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial
Markets Association (SIFMA), where he advocated for responsible financial
reform. Most recently, he served in a consulting capacity for Deloitte & Touche.

John’s other 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; and a managing director at Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood.

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. Currently he is an active
member of the Itasca Project, and serves on the boards of The Minneapolis
Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

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.