Stephen Adams, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, Dies at 86

Stephen Adams, an entrepreneur with diverse business interests and a long personal history of giving, passed away peacefully on March 14, 2024 at his home in Connecticut with his wife and best friend Denise and family members at his side.

Stephen Adams was born in 1937 and was raised in Minnesota. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1959 from Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones.  He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1962. Adams is the son of long-time newspaper journalist and CBS radio and television broadcaster Cedric Adams.

Per his Wikipedia page, Stephen Adams served as chairman of the board of Affinity Group Inc., FreedomRoads and Affinity Bank (now known as Camping World/GoodSam, Inc.) and was also chairman and the controlling shareholder of Adams Outdoor Advertising. He served as chairman of Affinity Group Inc.  and chairman of Adams Outdoor Advertising.

Adams Outdoor was founded in 1983 with the acquisition of Central Outdoor Advertising, located in Michigan. Over the next five years, Adams pursued a rollup of billboard and other outdoor advertising assets into additional medium-sized markets, primarily through the acquisition of existing outdoor advertising businesses in selected midwest, southeast and mid-Atlantic states (examples being Central Outdoor in Michigan, Creative Displays in the Lehigh Valley, Schloss Outdoor in North Carolina, and Turner Outdoor in Atlanta, Georgia).  Currently, Adams Outdoor is ranked as the fifth largest billboard company in the 2024 Billboard Insider list of the 20 biggest North American bulletin/poster companies.

Kevin Gleason, President and CEO of Adams Outdoor provided the following thoughts:

“Stephen Adams philosophy is one of being calm in business, relaxed in family life, warm in relationships and having the ability to enjoy your job- in short, living at a happier level than we ever thought possible. Stephen Adams was the quiet brilliance behind the growth and success of Adams Outdoor Advertising.” 

Stephen Adams is survived by his wife of thirty-two years, Denise Rhea Adams.  He is also survived by his four sons Stephen [Bonnie], Mark [Tyler], Kent [Mandy], and Scott [Anne], who are his children with his first wife, Ginney Sue Ridgway, who predeceased him.

If you have a memory of Stephen you would like to share, you can leave a comment below or email me at johnweller@billboardinsider.com.

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