Our Story
Our Story
About Us
Baker, Lewis & Company is the SBA lending industry’s premier executive search and personnel consulting firm.
With 25 years of cumulative SBA experience, over 300 SBA employee placements, and numerous talent management initiatives completed for top 50 SBA lenders, we have been where you want to go, and we are ready to take you there.
What We Believe
Our Leadership
About Us
What We Believe
Our Leadership
Dustin Baker
CEO and Co-Founder
CEO and co-founder Dustin Baker has built his practice on the strength of his relationships and expertise in the SBA industry. His SBA roots run deep—his first “grown up” job fresh out of school was a 5-year stint at the industry’s trade group, NAGGL, where he had an insider’s view of the industry and forged deep relationships with industry leaders nationwide.
Dustin has recruited in the SBA industry since 2004, including 5 years as a Director for a national finance company headquartered in Dallas, TX. He is endlessly interested in people and their stories. He loves helping leaders craft, cast, and execute on their visions. He imagines himself as a partner to every client and a trusted confidant to every candidate. Maybe that’s why the managers of so many top national SBA lenders have given him the exclusive rights to tell their stories and why he is the first call for so many candidates when they know it’s time to move on.
Dustin recently relocated with his wife and 4 children to the booming city of Tulsa, OK after 16 years in the Dallas, TX area.
Shane Lewis
President and Co-Founder
President and co-founder Shane Lewis knows what it’s like to be a banker, but his love for the SBA industry came later. Shane earned a Bachelors in Managerial Finance from the University of Mississippi and went to work for Suntrust and then Wells Fargo, but his entrepreneurial wanderlust led him into the world of executive search.
He joined the finance arm of a regional search firm in 2016, and the SBA industry almost immediately found him. He has focused exclusively on the sector ever since and has become the trusted partner and advisor of several notable national SBA lenders.
Shane is a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) with 10 years of recruiting experience. He loves hiking, sports, movies, and great books. He is a passionate advocate for the SBA industry and is certainly the most likable headhunter you’ll ever meet (you only need to ask anyone he’s ever placed to validate that fact).
Shane lives in Oxford, MS, the home of his beloved alma mater, with his wife, their two kids, and the ghost of William Faulkner.
Dustin Baker
CEO and Co-Founder
CEO and co-founder Dustin Baker has built his practice on the strength of his relationships and expertise in the SBA industry. His SBA roots run deep—his first “grown up” job fresh out of school was a 5-year stint at the industry’s trade group, NAGGL, where he had an insider’s view of the industry and forged deep relationships with industry leaders nationwide.
Dustin has recruited in the SBA industry since 2004, including 5 years as a Director for a national finance company headquartered in Dallas, TX. He is endlessly interested in people and their stories. He loves helping leaders craft, cast, and execute on their visions. He imagines himself as a partner to every client and a trusted confidant to every candidate. Maybe that’s why the managers of so many top national SBA lenders have given him the exclusive rights to tell their stories and why he is the first call for so many candidates when they know it’s time to move on.
Dustin recently relocated with his wife and 4 children to the booming city of Tulsa, OK after 16 years in the Dallas, TX area.
Shane Lewis
President and Co-Founder
President and co-founder Shane Lewis knows what it’s like to be a banker, but his love for the SBA industry came later. Shane earned a Bachelors in Managerial Finance from the University of Mississippi and went to work for Suntrust and then Wells Fargo, but his entrepreneurial wanderlust led him into the world of executive search.
He joined the finance arm of a regional search firm in 2016, and the SBA industry almost immediately found him. He has focused exclusively on the sector ever since and has become the trusted partner and advisor of several notable national SBA lenders.
Shane is a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) with 10 years of recruiting experience. He loves hiking, sports, movies, and great books. He is a passionate advocate for the SBA industry and is certainly the most likable headhunter you’ll ever meet (you only need to ask anyone he’s ever placed to validate that fact).
Shane lives in Oxford, MS, the home of his beloved alma mater, with his wife, their two kids, and the ghost of William Faulkner.
Deep Industry Knowledge
Imagine working with a recruiter who has been a banker, or one who has walked Capitol Hill with SBA Division Managers Lobbying for the 7(a) program.
Imagine working with recruiters who don't just dabble in the SBA sector.
Our team is made up of respected SBA professionals who have deep insight into the industry. That embedded knowledge and credibility are critical when you're trusting us to attract the right kind of people to your team.
Market Intelligence
Imagine a confidential advisor who can equip you with real-time, factual market intelligence in a highly specialized industry.
We base our counsel on a decade of research and 25 years of real experience working with other industry leaders who have faced the same challenges.
Should my closers be exempt or non-exempt? How can I tell if my people are really engaged and not just telling me what I want to hear? How do I build a metric-based incentive model for my operations staff? What do industry professionals think of first when they hear my company’s name?
We've been helping clients answer questions like these for many years, which prepares us better than anyone to help you tackle the problems you're facing.
Deep Industry Knowledge
Imagine working with a recruiter who has been a banker, or one who has walked Capitol Hill with SBA Division Managers Lobbying for the 7(a) program.
Imagine working with recruiters who don't just dabble in the SBA sector.
Our team is made up of respected SBA professionals who have deep insight into the industry. That embedded knowledge and credibility are critical when you're trusting us to attract the right kind of people to your team.
Market Intelligence
Imagine a confidential advisor who can equip you with real-time, factual market intelligence in a highly specialized industry.
We base our counsel on a decade of research and 25 years of real experience working with other industry leaders who have faced the same challenges.
Should my closers be exempt or non-exempt?
How can I tell if my people are really engaged and not just telling me what I want to hear?
How do I build a metric-based incentive model for my operations staff?
What do industry professionals think of first when they hear my company’s name?
We've been helping clients answer questions like these for many years, which prepares us better than anyone to help you tackle the problems you're facing.