Leonard J. Scot

Leonard Jeremiah Scot (February 14, 1871 - March 19, 1958) was the third CEO of Tritian, an American electronics company where he had worked since 1915. He led the company through its golden age in the thirties and forties, expanding it into new fields and markets where it maintained a strong presence for decades to come.

Early Life and Career
Leonard J. Scot was born on Valentines day in 1871 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father Rupert Scot was an iron worker and veteran of the Civil War, and his mother, Melinda, was a tailor and seamstress. His paternal grandfather, Red Salton was a slave from Florida who escaped to the north in 1833 and fell in love with a white woman, Anne, who would become Scot's grandmother. Scot had four siblings, two of which survived past childhood.

The Scot family was poor, living in a small tenement near the industrial section of town. Scot was first employed at the iron foundry where his father worked. He was responsible for cleaning and replacing casts, and an early injury caused him to lose his left ring finger. In 1888 he was employed at Edgar Thomson Steel Works. He became a manager of the plant in 1897, and after it sold to JP Morgan and became part of US Steel in 1901 he became superintendent.

In 1908 business magnate Wilson Osco was seeking out management for ELJ Manufacturing, a machinery manufacturing plant which he had acquired the year prior. Scot responded to the inquiry, and was offered a job as Operational Manager.

Tritian
Scot joined Tritian in 1915 at the behest of Osco, becoming the first official CPO of the company.

Personal Life
Scot did not learn the story of his grandfather until well into adulthood. His partial African-American heritage was not strongly conveyed by his physical features, and he recalls being often mistaken as having Mediterranean ancestry. Supposedly these features were more prominent in his two siblings who died in infancy.

The Scot family was Roman Catholic. though it is unclear whether or not he retained his religion throughout his life.