Baker Hill approaches five years of independence with industry recognition, new partnership and new CRO
Following three years of intense development and with new solutions in the market, Baker Hill has once again proven why it’s very name is synonymous with banking software that meets the end-to-end needs of a financial institution.
During the past six months, the company has received a top industry award from Aite Group for its cloud-based Baker Hill NextGen® loan-origination, risk-management and analytics software solution; inked a distribution deal with global financial technology firm Fiserv; and hired a top industry expert as its new chief revenue officer.
John Deignan, president and CEO of Baker Hill, described the developments as the culmination of a vision that saw Baker Hill not only as a standalone company again and an exceptional Indianapolis-based employer, but as a leading brand and innovator in the financial technology market.
“Quite frankly, we had a lot to prove emerging from Experian after 10 years—once again as a standalone company with the Baker Hill name that’s been trusted for over 35 years,” Deignan said. “Being named ‘Best-in-Class’ by Aite Group and signing an exclusive reseller agreement with Fiserv signals to the industry that the trust people have in Baker Hill is well-founded because awards and partnerships like these are extremely rare.”
When Aite last evaluated the range of products for commercial loan origination in 2016, Baker Hill didn’t make it into the top three. That was before it’s new Baker Hill NextGen® platform had hit the market and the company had only recently emerged from Experian and resettled its headquarters back in Indiana where many of its long-time employees still worked. This most recent Aite “Best-in-Class” announcement cited Baker Hill NextGen®’s value-to-cost, ability to deliver on promises, breadth of solutions, and the new Fiserv distribution agreement as key reasons for choosing to award Baker Hill its top designation. Baker Hill’s commitment to its customers also stood out, with superior client services and client loyalty in the market out ranking competitors.
Deignan also noted that Baker Hill’s new chief revenue officer, 25-year industry veteran Todd Juracek, adds strong leadership experience to the company. Juracek was most recently a senior vice president with Fiserv, and he “believes in the Baker Hill brand and this team to the extent that he chose to be a part of what we’re building.” Juracek leads the newly consolidated sales and marketing operation and is responsible for the company’s revenue-generation strategy, execution as well as go-to-market approach.
With 125 clients already transitioned from legacy products to the new Baker Hill NextGen® platform and 50+ in implementation, Baker Hill has an energy and momentum leading into 2020 that’s palpable inside the company.
“The Baker Hill brand is a known quantity for me because it’s been around since I got started in this industry over 25 years ago,” Juracek said. “Having just recently joined this company and management team, one of the things that’s so encouraging is the momentum that has been built up with early adoption of the new platform and products. It’s a great source of pride—very deservingly so for the product development team—to be recognized by Aite Group as well as the partnership with Fiserv. For my part, the sales and marketing team and I are focused on transitioning our remaining base and adding new client logos to the list of people we do business with. I am confident that 2020 is going to be another big year for Baker Hill.”
In addition to adding the new CRO, Baker Hill is preparing to add more sales and marketing roles to the team. Some technical roles may be added as well for continued product development and maintenance, but the company’s primary focus this year will be increasing its ability to provide the best customer support in the industry with new project managers, implementation analysts, education services trainers and other customer success positions.
“Looking back over the past five years, I think Baker Hill is a great Indiana success story that really demonstrates a resilience and determination that this state should take a lot of pride in, that our employees can take a lot of pride in coming into work each day,” Deignan said.
