Curtis Jeffries is a lifelong Arkansan, hailing from Helena. As a longtime Little Rock resident, he is passionate about the Natural State. Jeffries has been with Little Rock’s Stephens for 38 years, and he currently serves as senior vice president and director of sports marketing.
In 1987, Jeffries began his career with Stephens as part of the financial services group team. Throughout his time with the company, Jeffries has seen first-hand the company’s rapid and continued growth and expansion.
“Stephens is an incredible and dynamic company. We’ve grown tremendously in the time I’ve been here,” he said. “We had one office at 14 E. Capital in Little Rock, and we were doing business all over the country.”
Jeffries said Stephens’ culture is largely centered around relationships, both with clients and the community, internally across departments.
“Stephens plays an instrumental role in the growth of our state. People look to Stephens for leadership, and they know that we are an active participant in the growth of our great state,” he said. “Stephens could be anywhere if we wanted to be, but the family has dedicated themselves to being right here.”
Throughout his career, Jeffries has been inspired by and looks up to so many people he works with and for. This includes the talented, smart individuals who work in Arkansas and in the company’s offices across the country and beyond.
“Warren Stephens is a tremendous man. He’s an incredible, remarkable leader, and he works harder than anybody in the company. He’s working before people come to work, and he’s here long after people leave and go home,” Jeffries said. “His work ethic is second to none, his business sense is common sense, and he has the great ability to see a problem or an opportunity.”
Jeffries also looks up to Chenoa Taitt, executive vice president and head of marketing and communications, who works out of the company’s New York office. He credits her leadership for the department’s success.
“We have a saying around here that this is the last business card that people will have, and our turnover is very low and our average tenure for officers is well into the double digits,” Jeffries said, adding that that is true regardless of the department.
For young professionals seeking to go down a similar path as Jeffries, he offers the following sage wisdom: Be a team player, be known for your integrity, and understand the title and the position comes from the hard work put in.
Through working alongside his team, Jeffries has been able to help bring many sports-centric ideas to life. This includes Stephens’ work in sponsoring touring professionals on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and the Champions Tour, being the presenting sponsor for the Simmons Bank Championship, the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, which was created in 2021 by Warren to honor his father, and the firm becoming the official investment banking partner of Williams Racing in the United Kingdom.
Those partnerships and sponsorships have created unique opportunities for the community, most recently in sponsoring the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship and in partnering with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts to bring Beyond the F1 Circuit: Artistry and Speed with Williams Racing to Little Rock.
Outside of the office, Jeffries has volunteered with several nonprofits throughout the years, including Economics Arkansas. He also enjoys horse racing, Razorback football and basketball, gardening and spending time with his family.
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