Steve Hufford grew up in Northern Virginia, and is an end-to-end product of the Virginia public school system.  He received his B.A. degree from James Madison University in Russian Language and Political Science in 1981, and then his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1985. 

Following graduation from the Law School, Steve has had a diverse career in the corporate world.  From 1985 to 1998, he served as a mergers & acquisitions lawyer at large private law firms in Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia.  From 1998 through 2008, he served in a variety of corporate roles, including as an entrepreneur / founder and corporate executive at several private and publicly held technology businesses. In 2008, he joined Raymond James & Associates to develop an investment banking practice in the financial technology sector.  He subsequently became the Chief Operating Officer of Raymond James’s investment banking business in 2017, and the Head of Investment Banking in 2024.

Along the way, Steve became a committed disciple of Jesus through the ministry of colleagues in the workplace, and his faith is now a very important aspect of how he views his work and commits his time.  He actively supports several college and workplace ministries and serves on the Advisory Board of the Study Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Steve has been married to his wife Jenny for 35 years. They have three daughters and a growing brood of grandchildren (now seven and still counting).  His lifelong passion is playing basketball and he’s always up for a game at his backyard court in Atlanta.