Serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Comer Cottrell Jr., dies

Comer Cottrell Jr., Screengrab/Fox4

Comer Cottrell Jr., the entrepreneur who founded Pro-Line Corporation hair care products in 1970, died late last week on Friday at age 82.

A serial entrepreneur, he founded the Pro-Line Corporation, a Dallas-based African American hair-care business with US$120 million in annual sales.

In 1982, he was the first African American elected to the Dallas Citizens Council, the city’s paramount business and political organization of the day. He forged political friendships from the Dallas City Hall to the White House.

His educational philanthropy included more than US$3 million in support of Paul Quinn College. Cottrell purchased the predominantly African American Bishop College and financed the renovation and relocation of Paul Quinn College there – an investment of US$1.7 million.

Cottrell was the first African American to hold a significant equity position in a Major League Baseball team, the Texas Rangers and was an inspiration and mentor to numerous entrepreneurs.

As his health deteriorated in later years, he, Cottrell gradually handed the reins of his various businesses to his daughter.

Source: Newswires