TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Milton L. Scott 1956–2019 First African American Partner at Arthur Anderson LLP's Audit Practice, Houston, TX Business Leader
H arris (TX) County Com- missioner Rodney D. Ellis remembered about his longtime friend and con- fidante Milton L. Scott (Alpha Sigma 1977), “He was Mr. Perfect. He was a complete professional and ethical. If there was some question in business that looked like it was close to the line, he just ran away from it and opted not to do it.” Ellis went on to say, “We put in some miles and time together. He was a great source of inspiration and ad- vice. He had a strong interest in public service and was a person with tremen- dous faith.” Scott was a distinguished and experience professional in the area finance and accounting, entrepreneur- ship and corporate governance, in both public and private sectors. Longtime Houston, TX business leader and entrepreneur Brother Scott entered the Chapter Invisible on De- cember 8, 2019 at the age of 63 due to pancreatic cancer. Houston, TX mayor, the Honorable Sylvester Turner released the following statement on Brother Scott: “Milton L. Scott lived a life full of happiness and joy. He was a success- ful entrepreneur, an Arthur Andersen public accountant for 22 years, and much more. May we pray for his family and remember the impact he made on the lives of others. Rest easy Milton. We will meet again.” One of Bennett and Melnor Scott’s eight children, Scott was born on November 21, 1956 in New Orleans, LA and raised in St. Francis- ville, LA. Scott attended Southern Uni- versity in Baton Rouge, LA where he joined the Fraternity as a proud member of Spring 1977 LTD Scroller line. After graduating from Southern with a B.A. degree in accounting, he began his professional career at Arthur
Andersen, LLP and worked his way up to become a partner in the audit practice over the course of his 22-years at Andersen. He was the first African American to become a partner in the
Ser- vices, Inc.; Non-Executive Chairman of RedHawk Corporation; Chairman of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Founda- tion; Chairman of the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Busi- ness Foundation and Chairman of the Greater Houston Convention and Visi- tors Bureau. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Board of Visitors of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Scott also was very involved in his church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist where he was a key benefactor in the expansion of the church. Scott was recognized for numerous awards including Top 100 African Amer- icans in Business by Savoy magazine, Texas Legislative Caucus Outstanding Texas Awards and Texas Society of Certi- fied Public Accountants – Outstanding Council Chairman Award. The Houston Chronicle newspaper stated in an article on Brother Scott’s passing; “Scott was described by friends as a professional through and through — well-read and laser-focused on achieving his goals. He was a community leader and described by many as a man of deep faith.” Brother Milton L. Scott is survived by wife Yava (née Williams) Scott, daughter Kirsten Scott Bell and son Kameron Scott.
firm’s audit practice. In 1999, Scott left Anderson to join Dynegy as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer where he was responsible for risk management involving trading opera- tions, strategic planning and budgeting, compliance and internal audit, supply chain human resources, global facili- ties management, insurance, corporate security and corporate governance In 2003, he left Dynegy to help start and become managing director and Chief Financial Officer of Complete En- ergy Holdings, LLC (CEH), an invest- ment company formed to acquire, own and operate power generation assets in the United States. In 2007, Scott founded as Chairman and CEO of The Tagos Group, LLC. which is a sup- ply chain management technology and advisory firm. At the time of his passing, Scott served as Chairman of the Board of Ster- ling Construction Company. Sterling CEO, Joe Cutillo, commented “Mil- ton will not only be a great loss to the Sterling family, but also a great loss to the community. He was a leader, mentor, friend and inspiration to many people. His work and dedication was instru- mental in the successful turnaround of Sterling and his passion of giving back has positively changed many people’s lives in our community.” In addition to Sterling, Scott also served boards in various capacities, including Lead Director of WH Energy
By Aaron Williams
136 | SPRING 2020 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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