B.A. in Finance and Management
University of Arkansas
Witt currently serves on the boards of several private companies and non-profit organizations.
W.R. “Witt” Stephens, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Chairman
Wilton (Witt) Stephens is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Stephens Group, LLC.
The Stephens Group is the family office for Witt’s family as well as the family of his sister,
Elizabeth Campbell.
Witt founded The Stephens Group in 2006 with the vision of continuing the family’s legacy as
unique and trustworthy capital partners while developing and integrating best practices from the
emerging private equity community to add greater value to future partnerships. As CEO of Stephens
Group, Witt has led the SG team in deploying nearly $2.5 billion in capital across more than 60
different portfolio investments, both control and minority. SG’s current private equity portfolio
includes investments in over 20 separate companies across multiple industries. He has taken chief
responsibility for ensuring the firm maintains its legacy as a quality, trustworthy partner across all
these investments. Simultaneously, Witt has led a transformation of the firm focused on delivering
more value to portfolio companies. Stephens Group’s team has grown materially as we have added
functional expertise and depth in order to achieve this goal.
Prior to the formation of Stephens Group, Witt oversaw the combined Stephens Family’s energy
and natural resource investment activities. Witt continues to serve as Co-Chairman of SF Holding
Corp. and Chairman of Stephens Natural Resources. Stephens Natural Resources is one of the
nation’s largest privately held exploration and production companies, as it expanded its exploration
and production activities from the Arkoma Basin to the Western Anadarko Basin, the Gulf of
Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, South Texas and Louisiana.
Witt is a passionate outdoorsman and conservationist. He currently serves on the Board of Tall
Timbers Research, Inc. and is past Chairman of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, past
President, President Emeritus of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation and past Board member
of The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas. Witt is a member of the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame.
He has also served on the Board of Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Board of
Governors and the Executive Committee of the Arkansas Livestock Show Association, as Chairman
of the Grant County Museum Foundation and as a Board member of the Arkansas State Chamber of
Commerce.