John Taft is president and chief executive officer of RBC Dain Rauscher and Voyageur Asset Management. Prior to this role, he served as head of Asset Management and Products for RBC's U.S. and International division. He also served as head of North American Wealth Management Services, part of Royal Bank of Canada's Global Asset Management division. Before joining the firm, Mr. Taft served as president and chief executive officer of Dougherty Summit Securities LLC from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Taft has been in the financial services industry since 1981, with prior experience as a public finance originator and managing director of public finance for Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood Inc., assistant to the mayor of the City of St. Paul and finance director of the Latimer for Minnesota committee. Mr. Taft also has worked as a journalist and has been published in The New York Times, National Journal, Parade Magazine, The New Republic and The Real Paper. Mr. Taft has a bachelor's degree from Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a master's degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Organization and Management. |