Dana Dykhouse
CEO, First Premier Bank
First recorded March 30, 2018
During his time as CEO of First PREMIER Bank, Dana Dykhouse has grown the Sioux Falls-based bank's assets from $220 million to $1.5 billion and has donated millions back to South Dakota institutions.
Dana grew up in Rock Rapids, Iowa and attended college at South Dakota State University where he played on a football scholarship as a defensive tackle and graduated with an animal sciences degree. After college Dana started his financial career with Farm Credit Services in Nebraska and eventually accepted a position with Western Bank in Humbolt, SD.
In 1995, Dana was approached by First PREMIER Bank owner, T. Denny Sanford, to take over as president and CEO of the bank. PREMIER now employs thousands of people across South Dakota. While at PREMIER, Dana stressed community involvement for the company but also led by example. He has served as the chairman of the Sioux Falls Development Corporation, co-chair of Forward Sioux Falls, chairman of Junior Achievement of South Dakota, chairman of the SDSU Foundation Board of Directors, chairman of the Sioux Empire United Way Campaign and chairman of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. Currently, he is the vice chair of the Sanford Underground Research Facility and on the SDUS Foundation Council of Trustees.
Dana credits his experience with sports at SDSU for helping him establish a foundation of hard work and dedication and he has returned the favor by helping grow sports in our state. Dana was instrumental in bringing Division I college athletics to the state through his work as the Chairman of the SDSU Athletic Champions Council and Division I transition group.
Dana is also personally giving back to South Dakota and higher education. His donations have helped build the $6 million Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center at SDSU and he established the Dykhouse Family $1 million scholarship endowment at Black Hills State University. He was also instrumental in creating the Jackrabbit Guarantee Scholarship at SDSU.
