Remembering Our Friend and Senior Vice President James Cottos
It is with great sadness that Strategic Management says farewell to James (“Jim”) Cottos, who passed away suddenly in his sleep on October 4, 2015. Few can claim to have had as illustrious a career as he did. He served his country as a combat Marine and remained steadfast to the end with their motto, “Semper Fidelis,” always faithful. His civilian government service began as a mail carrier, then as a Postal Inspector. He became a Special Agent with the HHS OIG and worked his way up the ranks to become the Regional Inspector General in Atlanta and later became Chief Inspector of the OIG. He moved to the Department of the Treasury as Assistant Inspector General. There he provided testimony before 14 Congressional Committees. After retiring from the government, he worked first in public accounting before joining Strategic Management. He became a recognized national expert in corporate compliance and was frequently called upon to evaluate and advance compliance programs, including acting as Interim Compliance Officer to eleven healthcare providers and managed care organizations. He taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy, and made presentations at more than 20 conferences, including those put on by the American Health Lawyer Association where he was a member over 15 years, as well as the Health Care Compliance Association. He authored a number of journal articles relating to his experience as a professional investigator and compliance expert.
Our deepest condolences go out to Jim’s wife, children, and grandchildren. His admirers and friends were legion and he will be sorely missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and clients.