Bryan K. Stephens is President & CEO of the Hampton Roads Chamber.
Mr. Stephens returned to Hampton Roads in 2013 with extensive leadership and business experience having most recently served as President & CEO of Kalmar LLC in San Antonio, Texas; a $250M/year major manufacturer of material handling equipment. As President & CEO Mr. Stephens led the entire spectrum of research and development, product improvement, marketing, sales, supply chain management, production, quality control, distribution, and aftermarket parts, servicing and maintenance of Kalmar’s products worldwide.
Prior to Kalmar, Mr. Stephens served as Vice President of Military Programs for Allison Transmission, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana; the largest manufacturer of military transmissions in the world. Before leaving Hampton Roads, Mr. Stephens served as a Senior Account for SAIC in Suffolk, Virginia where he supported USJFCOM and U.S. Army TRADOC.
Mr. Stephens, a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, served in a variety of progressive leadership roles over a distinguished 28-year career. His last assignments included Infantry Brigade Commander and Division Chief of Staff for the 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Chief of Operations and Chief of Staff at the Joint Warfighting Center, USJFCOM in Suffolk, Virginia. His military qualifications include Airborne, Ranger, Pathfinder, Air Assault and Joint Staff Officer.
Coming from a military family, Mr. Stephens is a graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Political Science. He also received a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California.
For the past few months, we have been watching as Congress negotiates a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that if passed would increase taxes and add regulations to businesses at a time when many are struggling to retain staff and to recover from the shutdowns of 2020 due to COVID-19. As negotiations continue, we wanted to present some of the impacts this legislation could have on our local economy.
By Bryan K. Stephens Hampton Roads Chamber Of Commerce
Legislation is working its way through the U.S. Congress, and if it passes, would have grave ramifications for Virginia’s business climate, economic development, and job creation efforts. The bill is called the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. But despite its name, it is anything but positive. It is a union wish list of anti-business policies that ultimately harm businesses and workers alike.
By Bryan K. Stephens Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and Bob McKenna Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
After 15 months of varying levels of shutdown and mandated restrictions on our businesses, our economy is ready to boom once again, and we’re all ready to get back to living a normal life heading into the summer. That obviously includes reconnecting with friends and family at restaurants and bars and heading to the beach or mountains for well-deserved breaks and missed celebrations of life’s events.
There is no doubt that 2020 was one of the most challenging years most of us will ever experience. However, there is a silver lining as tough times often make one tougher, stronger, and more successful in recovery and beyond. This is true for resilient communities like the 757.
In this episode of Hampton Roads Chamber Chats, Bryan K. Stephens sits down with Jim Carroll, Vice President of Small Business, and Executive Director of the Small Business Development Center. They discuss the benefits of working with the Small Business Development Center and how they can help navigate the economics of COVID-19.
On February 10th, Hampton Roads Chamber President, Bryan K. Stephens, sat down with Ronnie Parker, the Chamber's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Officer, to discuss Black History Month, and how businesses need DE&I initiatives to be successful.
The violence, racial tensions, ugly political discord, and yes, even the pandemic of 2020 have all unceremoniously and relentlessly transitioned into 2021 totally unencumbered. In fact, with the horrific tragedy of January 6th, they appear to be picking up steam. The collective impact on businesses and our economy has been devastating. It’s been equally detrimental to our trust and confidence in our elected leaders. It has to stop!
In this episode, John Martin, CEO and Managing Partner of SIR, speaks with Bryan K. Stephens, President and CEO of the Hampton Roads Chamber, on RVA757 Connects and the future of forming a megaregion.
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