Leading the way

When reflecting on what has helped fuel the growth of Sioux Falls and what is necessary for continued growth, Beacom credits three entities:

Sioux Empire United Way: “Our generosity in this town is very strong, but we all need to help the SEUW grow because of the different organizations it supports,” he said. Beacom is also proud that First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard employees are No. 1 in Heart Club memberships, one of Sioux Empire United Way’s donor recognition levels.

Forward Sioux Falls: “This gives us the opportunity to do additional things to recruit businesses to South Dakota,” he said. “Forward Sioux Falls is key to our continued growth and highlights how important it is to get involved in our community.”

Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce: “The Chamber is home to a wealth of knowledge of people and opportunities for business,” Beacom said. “If you think about it when business leaders consider a move or expansion to our city, where do they usually start? The Chamber.”

Is he Miles or Kelly? It depends on who you’re talking to.

Beacom grew up in the Sioux Falls’ Hilltop neighborhood, the fourth of six children born to Joanne and Bart Beacom. His mother wasn’t fond of the name Miles so she always called him Kelly, as did the rest of his family and school friends.

After college, he put his full name, Miles Kelly Beacom, at the top of his resume, so if you know him professionally you know him as Miles. He estimated that about half of his acquaintances call him Kelly, and the other half call him Miles.

Beacom almost grew up a different town along the Big Sioux River, but a chance opportunity landed the family in Sioux Falls. In 1954, the Beacom clan moved from Sioux City to Sioux Falls so Bart Beacom could keep his job as a railroad engineer. It was only supposed to be for six months, but the family fell in love with the parks, cleanliness and friendly atmosphere Sioux Falls offered and decided not to return to Iowa.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to be raised in Sioux Falls. When I look at what he (my dad) sacrificed for all of us, it was just amazing,” Beacom said of his father’s work ethic and mother’s ability to run the household with six children and be the “mom” of the neighborhood.

Beacom’s oldest siblings went to Catholic schools, but because of a speech impediment, he went to the Sioux Falls public schools. He decided to stay in the Sioux Falls School District because of the influence of Coach Rich Greeno, Lincoln High School’s cross country and track coach.

“Coach Greeno truly believed in encouraging his runners. He believed that if he encouraged and properly coached his runners, his athletes would not only be good competitors, they would be great leaders in the future,” Beacom said. “He did not give up on anyone. He showed you what you could accomplish if you cared about people, talked about improvements needed, and encouraged them to do those things.”

While in high school, Beacom worked at McDonald’s at 8th Street and Indiana Avenue, now the site of the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House. He eventually worked his way up to assistant manager. During summers, he worked full-time for the railroad and Sioux Steel but kept his part-time employment at the fast-food restaurant.

“Back then, there were not a lot of jobs available — I was lucky to get a job at McDonald’s,” he said. “Today, we have a lot of diversity in our business opportunities — and most businesses are looking for help.”

Beacom took the lessons he learned from Coach Greeno and McDonald’s — along with his clock radio and a duffel bag — to Dakota State University (then College) in Madison, where he majored in business and minored in economics. An avid runner, Beacom obtained a track scholarship and became a DSU Athletic Hall of Fame runner. He also had the opportunity to run with his older brother, Dan, also a DSU track athlete.

Upon graduating in 1981, Beacom applied to work at Citibank, which was in its early operating stages in Sioux Falls. He spent two days at the downtown library researching to get a leg up on the competition before his job interview. This started his 40-plus-year career in the financial industry. He estimated that he probably had seven different jobs in his eight years with Citibank.

“I realized that the more I knew, the more valuable I’d be to the organization,” he said. Sometimes, those valuable learning opportunities required him to work evenings and weekends. Still, Beacom says the sacrifices were worth it because he learned so much about the banking and credit card industry.

From Citibank, Beacom was recruited by T. Denny Sanford and First PREMIER Bank to start a credit card company. In the first year, the company grew to 30,000 accounts. Today, PREMIER Bankcard has 1,500 employees in four locations in South Dakota and services 2.7 million accounts nationwide.

“Nobody would have expected PREMIER Bankcard to grow as it has,” Beacom said. “We need to continue to nurture small businesses, younger businesses — some of them will have significant opportunities to grow just as PREMIER has, and we want them to do that here in Sioux Falls.”

Like many young people, Beacom took the opportunity to explore life outside of South Dakota. In 1990, he went to Chicago to lead one of the worst credit card companies in the country. Within two years, Beacom and the team had turned things around and it was named the most improved company by Mastercard International. But while in Chicago, Beacom and his wife, Lisa, missed their family and friends and the South Dakota work ethic. In 1993, he had the opportunity to return to South Dakota and rejoin PREMIER Bankcard, where he remains today.

Upon returning, the Beacoms started a family. He says it was Lisa’s continual support that enabled him to be successful in his career.

“She picked up the slack,” he said, by running a household and managing four children, all their activities, and admittedly managing him as well. “You can never undervalue the importance of your partner!”

Today, all their children are grown and, like the young Miles, are exploring living outside Sioux Falls.

“The Chamber is in the center of all of that, whether it’s the ribbon cuttings or the Mixers or working with our legislators on keeping the fundamentals of our business community in the forefront,” he said. “We want to be open to every business coming into the community, and we want them to not only invest in our people resources but truly invest in our great community.”

He said that’s just how things are done in Sioux Falls — people work together and step up and help each other.

“Will we run into some problems in the future? Absolutely. Banks compete for customers every day. So do health systems. That’s why the Chamber is so important — it brings all business together,” he said. “I went from flipping burgers to CEO. Things will work out if you work hard and do the right things.

Beacom cautions against complacency, however.

“We have an incredible community today because of the people who continually step up to make Sioux Falls such an exceptional place to live,” he said. “We have not sat idle in the past and we can’t in the future. We have to aggressively attack opportunities and challenges to keep Sioux Falls special.”

Like the life lessons Beacom said got him to where he is today, Sioux Falls must do its homework, be generous, care about others, do the right thing, lift people up, work together — and keep pushing for those dreams.