Steven Harris, CPA, CGMA, and a managing partner with one of the nation’s top 50 accounting and business consulting firms, RubinBrown LLP, has been named the St. Louis American Charitable Foundation 2024 Corporate Executive of the Year.
Harris, just the fourth managing partner in the firm’s 70-year history and RubinBrown’s first Black managing partner, will be honored during the 22nd Annual Salute to Business Networking and Awards Luncheon on Thursday, February 22, at the Ritz-Carlton St. Louis.
In his role, he works closely with the firm’s chairman, John F. Herber, Jr. while focusing on oversight of operations and representing the firm across all markets locally and nationwide.
Harris began his career with the Clayton-based accounting and professional consulting firm in 1999, after graduating from UMSL with a degree in accounting. He was initially hired as a staff accountant after interning with the firm through INROADS, a program that aims to place underserved youth in corporate and community leadership roles.
Harris’ professional ascension over the past 20 years has been steady and impressive. In 2010, the firm named him a partner in Entrepreneurial and Assurance Services. He became chairman of the board of the National Association of Black Accountants in 2016 before his promotion to managing partner in 2022.
After graduating from Normandy High School, Harris had several higher education choices. He had the opportunity to attend the University of Missouri–Columbia or the University of Michigan, but he decided to stay close to home and attend the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL).
In an interview with UMSL Daily in 2022, Harris credited his ascent to the top of his profession to life lessons he learned while working with his father, E.C. Harris, who owned a drapery installment business in north St. Louis County. Harris referred to his father as his “first mentor and best friend” and recalled his father’s commitment to service.
“It really started with learning from him on how to treat people like people, build a great network, try to do a quality job and good things happen,” Harris told UMSL Daily. “I spent a lot of summers working with him. He’s gone now, so I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world.”
Initially, Harris said he intended to study engineering but accounting classes he took under Dave Ganz, then associate dean and director of undergraduate studies in UMSL’s College of Business Administration, he changed courses. Harris had a talent for the mathematics involved in engineering but was captivated by Ganz’s teaching methods.
“The way Dave would explain it, he would take real-life scenarios and just bring them to life,” Harris recounted to UMSL Daily. “You’re working on math, but you’re really working through a real-life scenario, which is really, really special.”
While pursuing his college degree, Harris worked full-time in catering and banquet set-up at the Marriott St. Louis Hilton Airport. While juggling work and school, Harris managed to excel and make the best out of his time at UMSL.
“I got everything I could out of those years of my life. I did everything and had no regrets because that whole experience was great,” Harris told the university publication.
Over his extensive career, Harris has been honored with many local and national awards, including The Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Diversity Award by the Missouri Society of CPAs. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and an Executive MBA from Washington University. He is also chair of the Regional Business Council’s Young Professionals Network, is on the Chancellor’s Council at UMSL and is involved with the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
In the 2022 UMSL Daily interview, Harris described his recipe for career success:
“The most important thing I had to learn is you must have fun along the way. You have to put energy into everything that you do and own it,” Harris said. “Have fun and leave everything you touch better than the way you found it.”
Tickets for The Salute to Business Networking and Awards Luncheon on February 22, 2024 may be purchased here.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
