2019 - 2021 FMA Magazine

EXECUTIVE RECOGNITION
In 2019, Chris Baker was named
National Executive of the Year by
FMA national organization.
A current board member, Chris has
backed his words with action since
the founding of FMA. Not only has he
gifted a $300,000 endowment to FMA
to support the long-range success of the
organization, he has also been involved
with all aspects of FMA, from recruiting,
to employer networking, to student
mentoring.
When Chris Baker was a student at
Auburn, he found that the finance
faculty’s support made a huge difference
in his engagement and academic interest
in finance. “Dr. Jahera asked me to join
the Auburn Business Case Competition
Team where we competed against other
national schools. We came in 3rd place,
but won best overall presentation. As I
began to get more involved in the college
of business as an alumnus, I saw a need
for a systemic program to do what was
done for me, but in a much more holistic
and comprehensive manner - and at a
scale where driven students could engage
to their fullest. So, when the opportunity
to support FMA presented itself, I jumped
on it. Now, as I see the full impact over
the years of this organization - I couldn’t
be prouder or more excited for all the
talented student outcomes that are now
being achieved.”
After graduating from Auburn, Chris
began as a staff consultant at Arthur
Anderson. Through hard work, he rose to
Global Managing Partner at the firm now
called Accenture. Baker spent most of his
career within the global energy sector
working on the largest and most complex
client problems involving business
transformation, which impacted all
aspects of his clients’ business strategy,
technology, processes and organization
aspects.
EXECUTIVE RECOGNITION
CHRIS BAKER
2020 FMA National Executive of the Year
How does Chris define success? “I like
to get the right stuff done the right way.
I’ve always worked hard in my endeavors.
So, no matter the task, do it like everyone
is watching, make good decisions, and
work harder than everyone else. As a
management consultant, I lived by the
motto: “Always do the right thing for the
client”. That wasn’t always popular, or
easy, or without risk to my consulting
business, but I always knew if I took care
of clients in the long run, they would take
care of me. These relationships built over
decades are founded on trust and doing
the right thing.
Chris is humbled by the national
recognition: “It means that Stewardship is
alive and well - make the place better for
others than it was for yourself. It means
that Leadership is alive and well - Tracy
and the team of students have been true
and courageous leaders to make this
all happen. It means that Meritocracy
is alive and well - the best and most
driven students have flourished in ways
unthinkable years ago.”
FMA 2019-2021 MAGAZINE 49