You can now call Ben Edwards a retiree. Just don’t call him a regional broker.
By Hall Lux, with Jenny Anderson, Rich Blake, Lucy Conger, Justin Dini, Kevin Hamlin, Jeffrey Kutler and Justin Schack
December 2000
Institutional Investor Magazine
“Apart from Alaska, we’re in every state. Tell me, what region would that be?” says the long-serving A.G. Edwards chairman. The great-grandson of brokerage firm founder Albert Gallatin Edwards, he recently announced plans to turn over the reins on March 1, 2001. Taking over as chairman and CEO is 57-year-old Robert Bagby, currently vice chairman and director of branches. A fifth-generation family member, Benjamin (Tad) Edwards IV, 45, now director of marketing, has been named president. The elder Edwards has enjoyed quite a run. Since he became a managing partner 35 years ago, his St. Louis-based firm has grown from 300 brokers in 44 offices to nearly 7,000 brokers in 691 offices. “I’m 69 and starting to envision a life without meetings, without committees,” he sighs. “I always said that if I did my job well, when I retire I will not be missed.”
