Cassius F. Butts

Founder and Chairman of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors

Cassius F. Butts is the founder and chairman of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors, a boutique management-consulting firm located in Atlanta, GA. Originally initiated in 2005, CFBA offers strategic management, access to capital and communication services. As an accomplished executive, Mr. Butts acquired a unique skill set in having served in leadership roles with Bank of America, Fleet Bank and two presidential administrations.

Mr. Butts is the former Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011. It was with SBA where he managed five record-breaking years for SBA lending within the eight southern states. He implemented over 100 strategic alliances with entity’s such as, National Minority Supplier Development Council, Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, and the Greater Women’s Business Council to name a few. In 2002, Mr. Butts served as a Presidential Management Fellow under the George W. Bush Administration within the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). He successfully helped established HUD’s multimillion marketing procurement process.

In 2016, Mr. Butts was honored by accepting the prestigious role as Executive In Residence at The J. Mack Robinson College of Business with Georgia State University. As an Executive In Residence, he promotes business opportunities within the university’s new Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute.  As a serial entrepreneur, Mr. Butts also serves as an equity partner with EQ Labs, Inc., a minority-owned distributor which manufactures the natural energy beverage Last Shot®. He also continues to serve as an equity partner and executive team member with Latimer Lighting Corp, an advanced LED lighting and innovation firm based in Suwanee, Ga.

Following the guidance of his mentor, the late Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson in 1999, Mr. Butts completed his graduate exit paper on the City of Atlanta’s Equal Business Opportunity program. He is proud to have pursued his passion of helping entrepreneurs domestically and internationally. Today, over 32% of minority participation now exists in awarding over $6 billion in contract work, particularly at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International airport.

Mr. Butts is a graduate of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University’s Graduate School of Public Administration where he teaches a course on Entrepreneurship. He also received a Certificate in Grant Writing from Emory University’s Lifer Learning Institute and is a member of Leadership Atlanta class of 2012.