He became the firm's president in 1922 and remained at the helm when the company separated from the First Wisconsin National Bank in 1934.
Following the tradition of companies joining the NYSE, the firm took the name of its lead partner and officially became Robert W. Baird & Co..
Today Baird is an international, employee-owned financial services firm providing wealth management, capital markets, private equity, and asset management services to individuals, corporations, institutional investors, and municipalities.
[1] Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, Robert W. Baird was one of two men selected by the U.S. government to help develop legislation designed to put the securities-investment business on substantially more solid footing.
He traveled widely within investment banking circles, sharing and fostering his belief that the whole industry must maintain the highest standards of integrity in dealing with investors and investment banking customers.