Scott G. Stephenson is the Founder of SGS Capital and former Chairman, President and CEO of Verisk Analytics. Mr. Stephenson serves on several for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including PSEG (NYSE), Definitive Healthcare (NASDAQ), The Bowery Mission (chair), Yale Center for Faith and Culture, the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard, and the UVA School of Data Science. He also serves as an Advisory Partner with the global private equity firm Advent International. Mr. Stephenson is a signatory of the Business Roundtable’s statement on The Purpose of a Corporation.
During his tenure as CEO 2013-2021, Forbes recognized Mr. Stephenson as one of America’s Most Innovative Leaders and as one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Leaders Worldwide. While CEO, Verisk became a component of the S&P 500 Index, was named to both the S&P Global 500 ESG and the FTSE4Good Index Series, and for three consecutive years Forbes ranked Verisk among the world’s most innovative companies. During this period the company’s revenues more than doubled, market cap quadrupled, and countries served tripled. Under his leadership, Verisk was repeatedly recognized as an employer of choice, named a Great Place to Work™ for six consecutive years, one of America’s Most Just Companies™, and one of America’s Best Managed Companies™. Prior to Verisk, Mr. Stephenson was a Senior Partner at The Boston Consulting Group, where he worked closely with Fortune 50 CEOs and was the founding partner of the firm’s southeastern U.S. practice.
Along with his wife Beth, he established The Stephenson Dean of Data Science at The University of Virginia. Mr. Stephenson is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. Additionally, he serves as an elder at Central Presbyterian Church of NYC and is husband to Beth, father to Peter, Lee and Caroline, and the grandfather of ten (and counting!).
Thesis
- Vertical data analytics and SaaS businesses routinely produce “winner take most” outcomes, leading to unusual growth, stickiness, and scaling margins for the leaders.
- Horizontal data analytic methods will produce superior growth and profitability only if they are truly disruptive.
- Content advantage via proprietary data should be an evergreen goal.
- An “A” leadership team will often turn a “C” business into an “A” business; the inverse is also true.
