When speaking with Joshua L. Baker, Principal Owner and Managing Director of Baker Camp Arnold Capital Management, you cannot overlook his passion for history. In fact, most of the artifacts and framed items on his office walls are testaments to his deep interest in the discipline.
“I think history is well-rounded,” said Baker. “It gives us a different lens to look through.”
The term “well-rounded” also applies nicely to Baker—a historian, former international soccer player, collegiate baseball player, and successful entrepreneur.
Baker grew up in Cropwell, Alabama. As a young and talented multi-sport athlete, he sought opportunities to further develop his skills on the field, eventually leading him to Coosa Valley Academy his junior year of high school to play baseball, then to Bullock Memorial School his senior year after a family move to south Alabama. After graduation, he earned a slot as a designated hitter on the Huntingdon College baseball team.
At Huntingdon, Baker studied history and met his future wife, Audrey. After getting engaged, they decided to relocate to Birmingham so she could pursue a career in the medical field. Determined to continue his academic journey, Baker looked to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“UAB covers the whole gamut… I had a different professor for every single discipline,” said Baker. “It allowed for a more creative focus on the subject matter.”
While at UAB, Baker decided to major in history with a minor in anthropology and archaeology. Also, he participated in the United States Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program. Between his studies and ROTC, Baker’s vision for his future began to materialize.
“I knew I was good with numbers... I realized quickly that I didn’t want to work for anyone [though],” said Baker.
By studying history, Baker believes he further developed his analytical mindset, which, in his opinion, complements his inherent talent with numbers. Through this intersection, Baker uncovered a key differentiator for his future business in financial services and capital management—specifically, to analyze every client’s unique situation and “connect every piece of the puzzle” in a consultative manner.
The road to owning his own business was long, though. After graduating from UAB, Baker worked for several banks, then explored a career with a captive broker-dealer. Those experiences proved to be challenging (and occasionally disappointing), but his passion for financial services and capital management while helping people achieve their goals remained firm. Eventually, he knew he needed to build his own business to fully realize his vision.
“We started with zero,” said Baker. “I cast a vision and figured it out.”
Baker took the leap in May of 2017—“after incessantly looking at the pros and cons and praying over the decision for over two years prior to that,” he says—and launched Baker Camp Arnold Capital Management, a full-service financial advisory firm located in Hoover, Alabama. In less than five years, the company has grown substantially and received numerous acknowledgements and awards, including:
- “Best Of” accolades from both the cities of Hoover and Vestavia Hills
- Inclusion in B-Metro magazine’s “Faces of Birmingham 2020: The Face of Financial Planning”
- Published interview with Advisors magazine
- Marquis Who’s Who Top Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
- UAB National Alumni Society Excellence in Business Top 25 in both 2019 and 2020
Along with growing his business and team, Baker and his wife Audrey also find many ways to give back to the community—including a newly-established endowed scholarship for the UAB Department of History.
“We wanted to focus on something very specific,” said Baker. “We’re the first to establish an endowed scholarship for graduate students [in the Department of History].
The Joshua L. and Audrey D. Baker Endowed Scholarship will help future graduate students in history overcome financial barriers, so they can focus on their studies. Baker’s appreciation for graduate studies is a personal commitment too—one day, he hopes to earn his master’s degree in the discipline of military history. In the meantime, between reading several World War II books a month and traveling the country to watch his kids play hockey and hunting whatever is in season, Baker is finding plenty of opportunities to stay busy outside of the office.
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