From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James V. Kimsey (born February 21, 1939[1]
in Washington,
D.C.) was the co-founder, CEO, and first chairman of internet service provider America Online (AOL).
Early
life
He grew up in South Arlington,
Virginia. After being dismissed from Gonzaga College High
School, he attended St. John's College High
School, followed by Georgetown University for one
term, and then the United States Military
Academy at West Point, from which he
graduated in 1962. He served in the US Army, becoming a lieutenant
and seeing active participation in U.S. interventions in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam. In Vietnam, he made the acquaintance
of future generals Wayne A. Downing (who also graduated
West Point in 1962) and John Abizaid.
Business
In 1970, after eight years in the military, Kimsey bought a
building in downtown Washington D.C., renting out the top floor. On
the ground floor he built and opened a bar known as The Exchange.
He became successful and opened other bars in the 1970s.[1]
In May 1983, Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for
Control Video Corporation, which was near bankruptcy. He was
brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an
investor in the company.[1]
CVC was founded by William von Meister to market an
online service called Gameline for the Atari 2600 video game console. Von Meister had
previously hired Steve
Case as a marketing consultant on the recommendation of his
brother, investment banker Dan Case. Von Meister quietly left the
company in early 1985. Shortly thereafter Control Video was
reorganized as Quantum Computer Services, with co-founders Kimsey
(CEO), Marc Seriff
(CTO) and Steve Case. Kimsey served as CEO until 1995, when Steve Case took the
helm.
Kimsey is a key investor in, and a director of private
military contracting firm Triple Canopy, Inc.
Miscellaneous
- In 1996 Kimsey established the Kimsey Foundation.[2]
Quotes
- "I told Wayne, 'I'm going to send all these guys [in charge] a
copy of 'The Godfather.' . . . You've got to think like the Mafia
thinks. No, it isn't going to be fair. You're going to whack 'em at
home. You're going to do stuff to their families. You've got to
play dirty. You've got to get in bed with dirty people. . . . Wayne
knows how to think like that." - to General Downing, regarding
stategies for dealing with al Qaeda.
- "I went to Georgetown University for a year.
It was on scholarship, and I had everything paid for, but I still
couldn't afford to go there. I was by far the poorest kid at
Georgetown."
- "They would look at me and say, My God, how are you ever going
to compete with IBM?"
See also
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