Lou Fouts, IE 1990, was presented the Hill Society Citation for his lifetime contributions to Georgia Tech by President GP “Bud” Peterson during the October 2014 ISyE advisory board meeting.

President Peterson read the citation the Fouts:

Cornelia, Georgia native J. Louis "Lou" Fouts, IE 1990, is an esteemed leader in business and his community. After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology, he specialized in supply-chain restructuring at SysteCon prior to joining the Boston Consulting Group's Russian office. He returned stateside to earn his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School prior to working at Caxton-Iseman Capital, where he developed private equity initiatives. In 2002, Mr. Fouts joined Water Street Capital, a global investment management firm based in Jacksonville, Florida, and became the firm's youngest partner two years later.

Georgia Tech is a tradition for the Fouts family, and Mr. Fouts joins his brothers, Nicholas S. Fouts, CE 1992 MS ENVE 1993, and J. Nathanael Fouts, IE 2003, in preserving the Fouts' legacy at Georgia Tech. Crediting his Georgia Tech education with preparing him for his successful career, Mr. Fouts has demonstrated his deep gratitude to his alma mater through transformative support for the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Therein, Mr. Fouts has directed critical philanthropic support for faculty, ensuring that it will continue to attract and retain preeminent teacher-scholars who will draw highly talented students to the program, attract junior and senior faculty as colleagues, and leverage external funding. Mr. Fouts has steadfastly served his alma mater through appointments on multiple boards including the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the College of Engineering Advisory Board, and the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Advisory Board, where he served as chair.

As one of the nation's premier research universities, Georgia Tech is educating the technological workforce of the twenty-first century and conducting research that drives innovation. Thanks to the support of principal benefactors like Mr. Fouts, Georgia Tech continues to reach new heights, building upon academic strengths and addressing the challenges facing our region, our nation, and the world. It is with profound gratitude that the Georgia Institute of Technology honors]. Louis Fouts as a member of the exceptional fellowship of The Hill Society.

Fouts has a strong connection to his alma matter and is dedicated to providing the best education at ISyE. Because of that, he has endowed three Early Career Professorships which are designed to enhance the ability of ISyE to “attract and retain eminent teacher-scholars.” ISyE faculty members Santanu Dey, Ton Dieker, Joel Sokol have received the professorships. Fouts is currently an active member of the ISyE advisory board and was previously chair of the board. Fouts enjoys engaging with students at ISyE and recently spoke with the class of ISyE 2801: The Professional Practice about his career and how his IE degree helped him get where he is today.