On October 23, 2025, Robins Kaplan LLP will host its 8th annual seminar on wealth and fiduciary disputes. We are excited to see how many of you have already registered and are equally excited about how our programming is shaping up! This year’s theme is “What Keeps Fiduciaries Up at Night,” and we are very lucky to feature John Taft, Vice Chair of the Executive Committee at Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, as your keynote speaker.
John has more than 40 years’ experience in the financial industry and has won respect as a courageous leader on issues impacting communities and public service. He graduated from Yale University and has a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Organization and Management. He has served in various capacities with numerous organizations, including RBC Wealth Management, the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, Columbia Threadneedle Funds, United Way, the Walker Art Center, and the Northwest Area Foundation, just to name a few. He will speak on how to lead in times of uncertainty.
Recently The Spotlight sat down with John for a Q&A so that our attendees can get to know him a bit more before the seminar. We hope you can join us!
The Spotlight: You were raised on the East Coast. What brought you to the Midwest?
JT: While I grew up on the campus of Yale University, where my father was a professor of physics, I was actually born in Chicago, so maybe it was in my DNA. That, or I’m no fool when it comes to relationships. I married my college girlfriend who told me that she was going to raise our children in the Midwest.
The Spotlight: You have had such an interesting career, starting with work as a journalist. Does your training and experience in journalism continue to impact your professional or personal endeavors?
JT: Absolutely. I think journalism is (or was) the equivalent of getting a graduate education in life. I think I wrote every type of newspaper and magazine article there was, from sports to obituaries to politics to public policy for publications ranging from a small county weekly newspaper to major metropolitan dailies to national policy magazines. In the process, I got exposed to situations, experiences, and people I would never have come into contact with otherwise. And I draw on those all the time in my work and in my personal life.
The Spotlight: I think it would be an understatement to say that you emerged from a political family. Your great-grandfather was our 27th president (and fun fact: the only person to ever have served both as president and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). And your grandfather served for many years as a United States senator from Ohio. Did you ever consider a career in politics? Why or why not?
JT: Certainly. Many times. Even as recently as this year. But … while I am what I would describe as a genetic Republican, and loyal to my family’s legacy, I am very liberal on social issues and conservative when it comes to finances. Which means I am unelectable! There seems to be no place in the Republican party today for moderates like me. Plus, who would want to expose themselves and their families to the extraordinary risk and abuse public figures are subject to today?
The Spotlight: You’ve been with Baird now for more than seven years and came out of retirement to serve there. What is your favorite thing about Baird?
JT: Its culture and its values, which align with the stewardship and servant leadership principles I espoused in my first book, Stewardship: Lessons Learned from the Lost Culture of Wall Street.
The Spotlight: You write and speak a great deal on leadership issues. In a nutshell, what is your leadership philosophy?
JT: My philosophy is consistent with the concept of servant leadership: Lead in the service of others. We are all members of communities, the collective wellbeing of which is our responsibility. Our calling is to responsibly steward that which has been entrusted to our care, no matter what organization or industry or society we are leading.
The Spotlight: What are the implications of your leadership philosophy for fiduciaries?
JT: The core principle of stewardship is 100% consistent with that of being a fiduciary. In fact, the words could almost be used interchangeably. Both mean responsibly managing that which has been entrusted to our care.
The Spotlight: Dream vacation?
JT: Four Seasons beach resort near a cultural center.
The Spotlight: Last really good book you read?
JT: Serious read: Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins. Fun read: So Help Me Golf by Rick Reilly.
The Spotlight: If you could only have one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?
JT: Saltimbocca with a side of pasta with pesto.
The Spotlight: That might be cheating (you’re getting two meats and noodles!), but it sounds so good that we are going to give you a pass. And while we might not be able to have saltimbocca on offering for our social hour at the event on October 23, we sure are looking forward to your talk!
