Miles Beacom
CEO & President, First Premier Bankcard
First recorded January 11, 2019
Miles Beacom was hired in 1989 to develop the PREMIER Bankcard program. Under his leadership as CEO and president of PREMIER Bankcard, the PREMIER organization has grown to over 3.5 million accounts, has been recognized as one of the largest issuers of MasterCard® and Visa® cards in the nation, and employs thousands of people across South Dakota.
Miles grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and attended Dakota State University in Madison on a track and cross country scholarship. He graduated with a business degree. After college, Miles began his financial career with Citibank and moved to First PREMIER Bank in 1989. After a three year stint as an executive with a credit card company near Chicago, Miles was approached by First PREMIER Bank owner T. Denny Sanford to return to Sioux Falls to build the credit card and financial services of the bank. In 1993 Miles and his family returned to Sioux Falls.
Like other PREMIER executives, Miles has a strong commitment to community involvement for the company and demonstrates this through his example. He has served on the board of directors of the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, Catholic Foundation of Eastern South Dakota, South Dakota Bankers Association and Board of Governors of the University of South Dakota Beacom School Of Business.
Miles credits an early childhood speech impediment and athletics for helping him establish a foundation of hard work, dedication and positive thinking—all traits that have served him throughout his career. Miles also credits a Dakota State University scholarship for giving him the opportunity to complete his education.
Miles and his family have a strong commitment to education in South Dakota. In 2017 Miles, his wife and T. Denny Sanford made a $30 million gift to Dakota State University to establish the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences and provide scholarships for students. The University of South Dakota completed construction of the Beacom School of Business following a $5 million gift to the Foundation in Miles’ honor. Miles and his wife have also made significant contributions to South Dakota’s children and heath care systems.
