Dan Bales is a co-founder and CEO of GiANT Capital.

My wife and I are often described as “the happiest empty-nesters on the planet.” Barbie and I enjoy traveling to see our five grown children who are located in wonderful places to visit across the country. We have an extremely active lifestyle with four feisty Jack Russell terriers chasing around our home in Edmond, Oklahoma. Barbie has an active church ministry, teaching young married women how to cook healthy for their families. Our other interests include fitness, golf, church, going to OU football games and completing our “bucket list” of places to go and enjoy together.

My early years were spent growing up on our farm in western Oklahoma that my great grandfather claimed as our homestead during the Oklahoma Land Run. My family moved to Oklahoma City when I was six years old. After graduating Harding High School (voted one of the 10 outstanding seniors) in 1967, I started college on a full music scholarship. While in college I developed a passion for Psychology. After graduating from University of Oklahoma in 1971 with a BA degree majoring in Industrial Psychology and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, I was blessed to be hired at Liberty Bank as a Management Trainee. I continued my MBA studies over the next few years while learning to be a banker.

Responsibilities during my banking career include positions of leadership as President and CEO of a local community bank, senior commercial lender at three local banks, division head of private banking/wealth management in two multi-billion dollar regional banks, and actively participating in many highly diverse executive management teams. More importantly, I had the opportunity to be part of developing the strategy for eight unique bank acquisitions and mergers during the last three decades of great change in this industry.

In the non-banking sector, I was also fortunate to be hired by some of my bank customers to develop business plans and manage their companies. These included positions as EVP of an NASD licensed securities firm and President and CEO of a wholesale distribution business and a large manufacturing company.

My other leadership activities include Chairman of the Oklahoma Organ Transplant Fund, Leadership OKC III, and Board positions with Oklahoma City Beautiful, United Way, American Heart Association, and Choices International Seminars.

The combined backgrounds and experiences of my GiANT Capital partners give us great perspective, confidence and insight into the transactional and financial components of growing successful businesses in this very competitive business climate.

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