Prominent local business leader, accountant
Milton Scott, an influential Houston business leader and accountant who worked on highprofile energy deals at the accounting firm Arthur Andersen and power company Dynegy amid Enron’s collapse in the early 2000s, died Sunday. He was 63 years old.
The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, according to his family.
Scott started his career at Arthur Andersen, formerly one of the “Big Five” accounting firms, and worked his way up to become a partner in the audit practice over the course of his 22-year tenure at Andersen. He was the first African American to become a partner in the audit practice at the firm, according to his profile in Contemporary Black Biography.
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.
“He was Mr. Perfect,” said Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a close friend for many
years. “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.”
An excellent student
Scott joined Arthur Andersen in 1977 after graduating with an accounting degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge.
One of his professors from Southern University’s accounting school, Mary Alice Darby, said she remembers Scott as an excellent student who made good grades. “We knew he would be a successful businessman,” Darby said.
Scott had moved on from Arthur Andersen by the time the accounting firm became embroiled in the scandal at Enron, the notorious Houston energy company that went bankrupt after fraudulent accounting practices were discovered in 2001. He left the accounting firm in 1999 — the same year, according to the New York Times, that Andrew Fastow, the finance chief of Enron, created the first of two partnerships to buy poorly performing Enron assets and started to help hiding Enron’s debt and inflating profits.
Anderson was later convicted of crimes related to its auditing of Enron and went out of business.
Scott was tapped by Dynegy, a Houston power and energy trading firm that had regularly done business with Enron. Scott became Dynegy’s chief administrative officer, a position that made him head of risk management, internal audit, supply chain management and human resources.
He reported directly to the CEO, Chuck Watson. When Enron began to collapse, Dynegy, of which Chevron owned a 30 percent stake, expressed intent to buy the distressed company, but later backed out of the deal in 2001. Friends said Scott was Watson’s right-hand man and advised him through the negotiations, putting in long hours. But, his daughter, Kirsten Scott Bell, said he never missed family dinner.
After Dynegy pulled out, Enron sued the company for $10 billion, claiming Dynegy engaged in disingenuous merger talks to “put an end to Enron as a competitive force.” The company settled the suit in August 2002, paying Enron $25 million. A month later, Scott left Dynegy.
Scott went on to form Complete Energy Partners in 2004, an investment firm that purchased power plants. He served on several company boards, including, most recently, as chairman of Sterling Construction Co.
He also was involved with promoting Houston’s economic development through his leadership on the board of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was passionate about mentoring young business leaders, his family said.
Scott was the only African American in his orientation class when he started at Andersen, according to a 2005 interview, and many of his colleagues came from prestigious universities and backgrounds. He, in contrast, was raised on a farm in St. Francisville, La., where his father instilled in him a strong work ethic from an early age. He attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, a historically black university.
“I began doubting myself and thought I had made a major mistake taking the job,” Scott said in a 2005 interview with Contemporary Black Biography. “But I remembered what my father taught me. Nobody was going to make me quit.”
‘Source of inspiration’
Scott was close friends with Houston’s powerful and successful, including Ellis, with whom he traveled the world for business. The two counseled each other throughout their personal and professional lives.
“We put in some miles and time together,” Ellis said. “He was a great source of inspiration and advice. He had a strong interest in public service and was a person with tremendous faith. All around, a great person who left us far too young.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner, who met Scott in the 1980s, said Scott was then “a rising star” among Houston’s young professionals.
“He carried himself in a stately way,” Turner said. “He was always very smart and professional.”
Scott also was very involved in his church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist. One of his legacies will be the expansion of the church, for which Scott was a leading donor and planner.
“What I grew to know about him was that he was a man of great faith,” said Carol Guess, chair of the Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce, who knew Scott through church and community organizations. “He was very serious about it. He was sincere and grateful to God.”
Born on Nov. 21, 1956, in New Orleans, Scott was one of Bennett and Melnor Scott’s eight children. Besides his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Yava, and son, Kameron.
His family said they spent the 10 months since he was diagnosed traveling and celebrating. His son graduated from Syracuse University in May, and his daughter was married in September.
“Our family learned so much from watching him battle this disease with so much courage, strength and humility,” Kirsten Scott Bell said. “He taught us not only how to live but also how to die gracefully.”
A celebration of Scott’s life was held Friday morning at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Building Fund at 3825 Wheeler Ave. or online at wheelerbc.org.