John Taft joins Baird as vice chairman

John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management from 2005 to 2016, has joined Baird as vice chairman and a member of the firm's executive committee. He will "pursue strategic business opportunities across Baird's platform, focusing his attention initially on collaborating with Baird's private wealth management leadership team to advance key priorities," the firm said in a release. (From the C Suite with John Taft: It isn't enough just to get up and work) Mr. Taft, who is a great-grandson of William Howard Taft, the 27th U.S. President, is a past chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. He most recently served in a consulting capacity for Deloitte & Touche. Baird said its retail business now encompasses approximately 860 advisers through 93 locations in 30 states, and has client assets of $126 billion.