Baker carries on family tradition as fourth generation banker

Northwestern Financial Review, Jul 15, 2001 by Crews, Jennifer Goepfert

Banking is in William L. (Bill) Baker's blood. Baker, president of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D., is a fourth generation banker. His great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father all served at The First National Bank. Today, Baker works along-side two of his cousins and recently has taken the reigns as president from his uncle, Robert Baker. For Bill Baker, banking is definitely a family affair.

The lineage of The First National Bank reads like the details of a family tree. Baker's father, William S. Baker, served as chairman, president and CEO from the early 1970s until 1983, when he became chairman and CEO and a longtime friend and banking partner, Curt Kuehn, became president and CFO. Kuehn served as president until 1991, when the torch was passed to Baker's uncle, Robert Baker.

Bill Baker had no idea that he would be joining the family business when he graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in economics. He went on to pursue a masters of business administration degree at the University of Michigan. But when he finished school in 1984, he decided to join his family at First National. He began at the bank in a management training program where he rotated through different departments and learned all aspects of the banking business. Within a year, Baker became an officer. He then became actively involved in commercial lending, which he said he enjoyed a great deal. When his father retired in 1995, Baker became executive vice president and formed a partnership with his uncle to manage day-to-day activities.

North*Western Financial Review is recognizing Baker as its 2001 Rising Star selection of Dakota.

"I have especially enjoyed these last five years. More than anything I enjoy the customer relationships," said Baker. "And the relationships with the employees, other bankers and with other people in the community."

This year, on January 1, Bill Baker proudly stepped in to fill the family shoes.

"Bill is definitely a rising star," said Kuehn, who worked for generations alongside the Baker family, watched Bill Baker grow up, succeed as a banker and take the reigns. "He had the leadership and the drive and the knowledge and the personality that would make the bank succeed. I worked with the bank for about 40 years and when I got ready to retire, I felt a lot better about retiring knowing that he was coming up in the institution." As president, Baker is in charge of 12 locations in Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities. The bank, founded in 1885, has grown to $570 million in assets and 260 employees. The bank also has a large trust department worth in excess of $2 billion. First National also owns and operates the Advantage ATM Network, the largest locally operated regional network in the Dakotas and southern Minnesota. Baker, admittedly, has a lot on his plate. "It keeps me out of trouble," he laughed.

"He is handling the presidency very well," said Kuehn. "He is doing a lot of things that we should have done even during my time. He is not the boss's son. All the employees are backing him."

Baker is using the computer knowledge and experience that he gained in graduate school to modernize the internal communications systems, and Kuehn said, he has even brought the ATM network back on track.

"He has done an excellent job," said Kuehn. "He is good with public relations and well respected in the community."

Baker credits his success as a banker not only to his father, uncle and to Kuehn, but also to Brad Dittes, who served as a senior lender when he started with the bank. He also remembers fondly the late David Birkeland, president and CEO of First Bank South Dakota, Sioux Falls, as having a great influence on him when he was younger. And Baker credits the many bank professionals, advisors, attorney, CPAs and consultants that he has had the pleasure of working with during his career.

He also attributes success to continuing education. Baker has a certified financial planner designation and has continued learning through American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America seminars over the years.

"The best advice I can give is get a good education and remember that banking and the financial services industry are ever changing fields," said Baker. "You need to have the attitude of being a life-long learner and continue to enhance your education and utilize the mentorships that you have."

Baker's three children, Maggie, 14, Lauren, 12 and Billy 9, and his wife Peggy are important figures in his life. He said his oldest daughter has already hinted at a desire to become a fifth generation banker. Baker also works at the bank with his cousins, Robert and Stephanie and Kuehn's daughter, Andrea. He said that if one of his children wanted to keep the business in the family, he would certainly encourage them. For now, he is focused on becoming successful as the bank president.

"My goal is to continue to grow and develop this institution as the premier financial institution in our market," he said. "I will continue to cultivate and maintain the bank as a wonderful asset for our future generations and generations of my family to continue to own and to operate. I would like this bank to be a real treasure for this community."