Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird)

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

M&A and more in Milwaukee

Milwaukee’s Robert W. Baird & Co. (better known as Baird) offers wealth management, capital markets, asset management, and private equity services to clients worldwide. The firm has more than $94 billion in client assets, and during the past decade, it has advised on 827 M&A and financing deals with a total value of over $165 billion. The firm's history dates to 1919, when Robert Wilson Baird, one of the founders of the National Association of Securities Dealers, was named lead partner of the First Wisconsin Company, the securities division of the First Wisconsin National Bank. Baird rose to become president of the division, which was later spun off and renamed the Securities Company of Milwaukee Incorporated. By 1948, the firm had obtained a seat on the NYSE and assumed its current name, Robert W. Baird & Co. Baird, the firm, gathered its strength in Wisconsin in the 1980s, becoming the state’s top investment bank before embarking on a strategic expansion in the 1990s. This led to the opening of dozens of new offices in the U.S. and Europe. Today, the firm has more than 100 offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and is owned by its employees. In 2012, Baird ranked No. 21 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the bank’s ninth consecutive year on the list. Baird is led by Paul Purcell, who serves as the firm’s president, CEO, and chairman. The firm employs more than 2,700 people.