A longtime EBSCO board member has been named the permanent CEO of the Birmingham company after serving in an interim position.

Bryson Stephens is the grandson of EBSCO founder Elton B. Stephens Sr. and son of J.T. Stephens, chairman emeritus. Bryson is the third generation of Stephens in leadership at EBSCO, which was founded in 1944.

Bryson has been on EBSCO’s Board of Directors for about 19 years and was appointed chairman in 2017, according to the company.

Elton B. “Brys” Stephens III will take Bryson’s place as board chairman.

About Bryson Stephens

Bryson is a graduate of Virginia’s Hampden-Sydney College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in economics and history in 1994. He earned his MBA from Wake Forest University School of Business in 1996.

His story at EBSCO began in 2007, when he was a management consultant, according to his LinkedIn profile and EBSCO Industries.

In 2014, he was named Group President and managed four manufacturing companies within the EBSCO portfolio. He was promoted to Vice Chairman of the board in 2016 before becoming chairman in 2017.

“Bryson has a long history with EBSCO. As the grandson of our founder, Elton B. Stephens, and son of Chairman Emeritus, J.T. Stephens, Bryson was no stranger to dinner conversations filled with sales success stories and entrepreneurial feats.”
EBSCO Industries

After former CEO Tim Collins announced his retirement in early 2024, Bryson took over as interim CEO.

In his position, Bryson oversees EBSCO Realty Investments and is a member of the Savings and Profit Sharing Trust Administrative Committee.

What is EBSCO Industries?

EBSCO’s origins go as far back as 1930, when Elton B. Stephens Sr. began selling magazines to put himself through college and law school.

After earning a law degree, Stephens decided he could earn more money as a salesman than a lawyer and founded the Military Services Company (MSC) in 1944 to sell magazine subscriptions, personalized binders and magazine racks to the armed forces.

After acquiring several businesses over the next decade, they were combined to form EBSCO Industries — the Elton Bryson Stephens Company. Today, the company owns around 20 different businesses in several different industries, including: