His mother was a businesswoman and his father was a physician from Long Island, New York.
[1] Mills got his early education at the Waldorf School of Garden City, New York.
[1] After graduating college, Mills worked as deputy treasurer for the City of Philadelphia.
During that time, he got to know Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET).
He was executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Viacom for five years.