There are several versions of the “branch manager” riddle. This was from 1982:

Q: What do you call a man in a tree wearing a three-piece suit?
A: A branch manager.

This is from 1989:

Q: What do you call a manager who sits in a tree?
A: A branch manager.

A blonde joke—the most popular version—is from at least 1991:

Q: What do you call a blonde in a tree with a brief case?
A: Branch Manager.

A racial version is from at least 1994:

Q: What do you call a black man in tree?
A: A branch manager.


Google Books
May 1982, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 74, col. 3:
Jake: What do you call a man in a tree wearing a three-piece suit?
Jack: I don’t know.
Jake: A branch manager. — Brian Hair, Irmo, S.C.

8 March 1989, Kerrville (TX) Daily Times, “A little bit of humor,” pg. 12B, col. 7:
Pat: What do you call a manager who sits in a tree?
Pam: A branch manager.

15 April 1990, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), “A little bit of humor,” comics sec., pg. 5, col. 1:
Pat: What do you call a manager who sits in a tree?
Pam: A branch manager.

Google Groups: rec.humor
Blonde jokes (list)

9/21/91
(...)
14. What do you call a blonde in a tree with a brief case?
(Branch Manager)

Google Groups: alt.tasteless.jokes
200 Truely Tasteles Jokes
Philip J Bowman
2/9/94
(...)
62. What do you call a black man in tree?
A branch manager.

6 February 1998, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Laugh Lines; Pint-Sized Punch Lines,” pg. E2, col. 3:
Whom do you call when you have to trim a tree? The branch manager. (Deon Se Hawkins, 5, Los Angeles, Warner Avenue Elementary)

Google Books
Jokes, Riddles and Wisdom:
The Best Collection Ever
By Roger Kuder
San Jose, CA: ToExcel Press
2000
Pg. 59:
Q: What do you call a blonde in a tree with a briefcase?
A: Branch manager.

Google Books
The Jumbo Book of Blonde Jokes
By Ed Sullivan
Bramhall, Cheshire: Cool Publications
2004
Pg. 16:
The Blonde Career Woman
What do you call a blonde in a tree with a brief case?
Branch Manager.

Twitter
Marina Torchiari‏
@mtorchiari
What do you call a blonde in a tree with a briefcase?
Branch Manager.
2:50 PM - 23 Aug 2008

Google Books
Jokes of the 1970s & 1980s
By Mozelle Barr Martin
Lulu Press (Lulu.com)
2017
Pg. ?:
What do you call a Black man in a tree ? Branch manager.

Google Books
Medicine for a Merry Heart
By Larry Ellis
Ishpeming, MI: BookVenture Publishing LLC
2017
Pg. ?:
What do you call a blonde in a tree with a brief case?
The branch manager.

Twitter
Lucky Score‏
@LuckyScoreNet
Q:
What do you call a blonde in a tree with
a brief case?
A: Branch Manager.
#Joke from #BlondeJokes in #Jokes, #Humor and #Satire
8:00 AM - 24 Oct 2017