McCombs Made Podcast: Arthur Mills

The themes that run through Arthur Mills IV’s life  — education, relationships, and giving back — drew him to be a McCombs student during the 1990s and have kept him hooked.

Mills, who also earned a master’s in education from Yale University in 2012, has been an educator, entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader. An Atlanta resident, he is chief operating officer of America’s Promise 

Alliance, a collective movement of youth-serving organizations focused on addressing the most urgent issues facing the next generation in education, workforce, and our democracy.

Mills also has chaired the McCombs MBA Advisory Board and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, led the New Teacher Center, and is founder and president of Mills Management Group, a boutique consulting firm.

Featured on the “McCombs Made” podcast, Mills talked about his influences, philosophy on success, and attachment to McCombs. Here are highlights from the conversation.

The “New Kid”

We moved a lot, and it’s one of the things that has helped me in my career. I was the new kid. The skills you get pushing through that uncomfortableness means you’ve got to figure out how to make your way and figure out who’s who and what’s what. As I got further along and it kept happening, I got better at it, and those same skills still help in my career.

Choosing UT

My grandfather, a Morehouse graduate, was one of the first African Americans to get an advanced education degree at the University of Southern California. That was embedded in my life. My dad went to Morehouse and my mom attended Morris Brown. UT was not on my radar, but it was the biggest, baddest place to be. It’s the best school in the state. I felt at home here. I like being a big fish in a big pond. There’s also something to be said for being in a space where there weren’t many folks that looked like me. I took it as an opportunity to really show myself and challenge myself, because you’ve got to be able to work in spaces that may not always be comfortable.

Mentoring 

I had amazing professors and amazing people that took me aside and said, “Hey, Arthur, don’t quit. You’ve got this.” And that resilience that they helped me build helped me throughout my career. And it’s how I mentor young people and other folks in my life. It’s not going to be perfect every day, and that’s OK. Learn from it and keep going and keep striving. That’s what’s important — making sure young people see what’s possible. I go back to the privilege I had: I could see what tomorrow could be, and I could see a path for me to get there.

If someone reaches out and says, “Hey, I’d love to talk to you about something,” try to make sure that happens. I can’t short-shrift my mentees. So, if I’m out of town, (I tell them), “When I get back, we’re going to have dinner, and here’s the date.” And then we take it from there and have fun.

America’s Promise Alliance

These are the best organizations across the country doing amazing work for young people. We think it’s going to change the game for young folks, and that’s going to become even more important in the near future as we push forward to make sure young people have the access, exposure, and opportunities to help them — and their communities — be great.

Philanthropy

It’s important to put your money where your mouth is. One way I can leverage my philanthropy and my network’s philanthropy is to make sure that we’re getting the right issues on the table and speak about them in ways that we can ultimately impact. I support McCombs because I want McCombs to continue to be one of the best business schools in the world. And I want McCombs to be more welcoming to students of color, first-generation students, students that are coming from less privilege, because the education that I got certainly changed my life. 

Arthur Mills IV graduated from the McCombs School of Business with his BBA in 1996 and his MBA in 2004, then earned his master’s in educational leadership from the Yale School of Management in 2012. His passion for giving back led him to serve as Chair Emeritus on the McCombs Advisory Board. In this episode of McCombs Made, Arthur talks about his many different career pathways, the importance of education, and how he is paving the path for others to succeed.

McCombs Made is produced by The Drag Audio Production House. Listen to all episodes on LibSyn, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.