Energy scholarship honors visionary businessman

There are traits all great business schools, including the A. B. Freeman School of Business, aim to foster among promising, young students. Unwavering integrity. An ability to turn ideas into reality. A tireless drive to succeed.

Andrew Makk (BSM ’92) embodied all of these qualities. He was always the kid with a business idea. He painstakingly advertised himself as a responsible babysitter for hire — at the age of 6. At 9, he advised his dad to invest in FedEx. His dad thought it was a silly suggestion, to his later regret.

“If you put Andrew in a room with a whiteboard, he’d come out with a business,” says his wife, Catherine Newstadt Makk (N ’93).

And at Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm in Short Hills, N.J., that’s exactly what he did. He created a midstream gas business where there was none. Makk, who worked in the energy industry since graduating from Freeman, began with ECP the year of its formation in 2005 and became a principal of the firm. Specializing in energy finance, he helped develop domestic infrastructure assets such as power plants and pipelines.

“I was always inspired by Andrew’s passion for his work, and I truly admire ECP for creating a culture where innovation is valued,” says Catherine. “Andrew came home happy every day.”

In July 2013, at the age of 43, Andrew passed away after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. He left behind his wife and their then 3-year-old daughter, Hannah Carolyn Makk.

After his death, the partners of ECP were determined to honor his memory. They seeded a campaign to endow the Andrew F. Makk Scholarship Fund at Tulane University.

The scholarship will support talented undergraduate business students with an interest in energy, paving the way for future “Andrews” of the world.

A proud member of a large Tulane family, Makk was a “Newcomb husband” to Catherine, younger brother to three Tulane graduates — Laszlo Makk (A&S ’85), Stephen Makk (A&S ’86) and Christopher Makk (A&S ’87) — and son-in-law to the late David Newstadt (BBA ’57).

“Andrew was someone who cared deeply about every person who worked here [at ECP] from the top to the bottom,” says accountant Laina Bartosh, who was instrumental in organizing the campaign. “Even in the depths of his cancer treatment, he was always smiling.”

ECP and Catherine set an aggressive goal to raise $250,000 over three years. The fund exceeded that goal in four months, reaching over $325,000.

“For me and all the partners and employees at ECP, we’re remembering a tremendous person who gave so much in his lifetime,” says Murray Karp, chief financial and operating officer. “We want to keep Andrew’s legacy of giving and mentorship alive.”

The first Andrew Makk Scholar will be named in fall 2014.

One goal of the fund is to better disperse Tulane students in energy companies across the country. An internship for a Tulane student is in the works at ECP’s headquarters, a longtime dream of Andrew’s.

“The scholarship that ECP started, for students it’s wonderful, for the energy industry it’s great,” says Catherine. “But for my daughter to have a lasting tribute to her dad — at a place he loved — is the greatest gift I can possibly ask for.”

Andrew F. Makk Memorial Scholarship Donor Honor Roll

Anonymous Donors
Mr. and Mrs. David Bach
Barclays Bank PLC
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bartosh
Mr. Santino Basile
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Batchelder
Ms. Julia Bates and Mr. Peter Vail
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Bender
Ms. Lindsay Pio Blank
Ms. Erica Boeke
Cardinal Gas Storage Partners LLP
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Cardone
Ms. Ellen Carucci and Mr. Will Tracy
Mr. Benjamin D. Casey
Ms. Cynthia Doss Cooper
Coppedge Gordon Family Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler Coppedge
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Cowell
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Marc DeBevoise
Mr. Matthew Delaney
Mr. and Mrs. Matt DeVoss
Mrs. Barbara Ellen Newstadt Dovie
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Dzenitis
Energy Capital Partners
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Erwin
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Evans
Mr. and Mrs. John Fabian
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Mr. William N. Finnegan, IV
Mr. Michael P. Flanagan
William J. Frable, M.D.
Ms. Amy B. Glynn and
Mr. Gardner MacDonald
Goldman, Sachs and Company
Mr. David E. Graber
Mrs. Gay Biggs Graves
Mr. and Mrs. W. Clay Grubb
Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Ms. Allyson R. Halperin
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Heathwood
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Herman
Mr. Matthew H. Himler
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan B. Hough
Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Houseman
Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie W. Howerton
Mr. and Mrs. C. James Hyslop
Ms. Cheryl L. Ice
Mr. and Mrs. Hartley E. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Kerry Johnston
Mr. and Mrs. Murray Karp
Ms. Susan Keena
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Lane
Mr. and Mrs. Zane Latham
Mr. Alan W. Lawrence
Colonel and Mrs. Richard Leibert
Mr. and Mrs. Max Linnington
Mr. and Mrs. David Little
Ms. Christina J. Loftus
Mr. Nelson Mabry
Mr. and Mrs. Lon M. Magness
Mrs. Catherine Newstadt Makk
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher L. Makk
Laszlo J. K. Makk, M.D.
Stephen P. Makk, M.D.
Mr. Robert Mancini
Dr. and Mrs. Sidney G. Marcum
Martin Product Sales LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Nazar I. Massouh
Dr. and Mrs. James W. McFarland
Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. McGrath
Geraldine E. Menard, M.D.
Mr. Norman Miller and Mr. Lee Fallis
Mr. and Mrs. David G. Moore
Morgan Stanley Charitable
Gift Program
Professor James T. Murphy and
Mrs. Doris Murphy
National Philanthropic Trust
Mrs. Barbara Carter Newstadt
Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Park
Mr. Marc Patrican
Mr. Michael Payne and
Ms. Jessica Uhl
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Peters
Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Pliner
Mr. Lee J. Potter, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Tyler G. Reeder
Mr. and Mrs. James Richardson
Mr. Larry Richardson
Ms. Mary C. Rinehart
Mr. Steven D. Rocca
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Rubenstein
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett G. Schmidt
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest R. Schmidt
Schwab Charitable Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Shino
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Semmes
Mr. Michael Shenberg
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Singer
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Somberg
Mr. and Mrs. Powell Spears
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Spinner
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Stevenson Hunt
Mr. Eric E. Stoerr
Summit Midstream Partners, LP
Mr. Joseph W. Sutton
Ms. Meredith Taylor and
Mr. Remko van de Water
Mr. and Mrs. Rex W. Taylor
Mr. and Mrs. Dominick Termini
Ms. Georgia Wall
Wells Fargo Bank, N. A.
Dr. and Mrs. Nathaniel S. Winstead
Dr. and Mrs. Daniel K. Winstead
Ms. Suzanne Zywicki