Curt Bradbury: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame
Curt Bradbury
Chief Operating Officer
Stephens Inc.
Bradbury was born in 1949 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in finance and banking in 1971 and Master of Arts in Economics in 1972, both from the University of Arkansas. Bradbury joined Stephens Inc. in 1972, serving in various positions until 1985, when he left the firm to serve as Chairman and CEO of the then-struggling Worthen Banking Corporation. Bradbury and his team led a series of acquisitions and positioned the banking group for a sale at more than twice its book value in 1995. Bradbury then returned to Stephens Inc., where he worked on hundreds of key investment banking transactions and private investments on behalf of the family and firm. Currently, he focuses on development and execution of strategic initiatives, including expansion of Stephens Private Client Group, growth of Stephens Investment Management Group and continued development of Stephens Capital Markets Group.
Bradbury has served three terms on the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Board of Directors, is former chairman of the American Securities Association Board and has served as director of several publicly traded companies. He was on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities from 1993 to 2000 and a former director of the Smithsonian Museum of History. He has served as chair of the Arkansas State Board of Higher Education, Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Board and Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, Bradbury received the Burlsworth Legends Award, for Arkansans who have made a significant positive impact on the state.