James V. Kimsey*

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1939, James Kimsey was the oldest of five children in his family, which resided in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. His father, a veteran of World War I and a retired sergeant, worked at the lowest levels of the federal government.

Even though Kimsey's mother had a positive attitude, life in their household was difficult. "I grew up in a fairly tough environment," said Kimsey. "My youngest brother was autistic, and my parents had a rough time dealing with the problems that went along with his condition." A lack of funds was a perpetual challenge, and Kimsey had to work at an early age to help support his family. He had paper routes in his youth, and as soon as he was strong enough to carry a golf bag, he caddied.

Kimsey did not mind his heavy responsibilities and, like his mother, he did not worry about his future. "I had the idea early on that I could be anything I wanted to be," he said. "That's one of the great things about this country. The message permeates the atmosphere: Every kid born in America can grow up to be president. I believed that."

A bright student, Kimsey's aptitude in school earned him the nickname Lightbulb. When he was ready to enter high school, his mother encouraged him to apply for a scholarship to Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. The Catholic school accepted four scholarship students, and Kimsey was one of them. Getting to school, however, often proved difficult. His route required him to take a bus and then a streetcar, but more often than not, Kimsey hitchhiked to save the fare.

Even though Kimsey was a capable student, his personal discipline left much to be desired. During his senior year, he left school and worked as a doorman at a downtown bar. Horrified, his mother went to St. John's, another Catholic high school, and begged them to let her son take a test to see if he could qualify for a scholarship. Kimsey took the test and was accepted.

Upon high school graduation, Kimsey's academic prowess earned him yet another honors scholarship, this time to Georgetown University. A year later, he applied to and was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His experiences there had a profound and lasting effect on him. In addition to the school's motto of duty, honor, country, Kimsey zeroed in on a point that his officers made to him on his first day at West Point. "They told me there are three answers to every question: '˜Yes, sir.' '˜No, sir.' '˜No excuse, sir.' Later, when I was in combat, those words came back to me, and I realized that there is no defense for failure. It was a valuable lesson that taught me never to settle for less than optimal results in anything I undertook."

In 1962, with a military engineering degree, Kimsey began his service with the U.S. Army as an airborne ranger, eventually rising to the rank of major. His first tour of duty was in the Dominican Republic, where he served three months as a company commander. Next, he was commander of a 12-man team in South Vietnam, where he directed the building of an orphanage.

Kimsey was in special operations during his second tour of Vietnam, where he had a front-row seat watching U.S. foreign policy in action. He found his job challenging and believed he was making a positive difference, but after eight years in the service, he decided a military career was not for him.

Returning home to Washington, D.C., Kimsey spent his $2,000 in savings for a down payment on a small building. He arranged for a restaurant to lease the lower half and then rented the top floor to a group of stockbrokers. Halfway through the deal, however, the restaurant owners couldn't pay the contractor for renovations that were already underway. Knowing nothing about the restaurant business, Kimsey decided to take it over. He got permission to place a running ticker tape above the bar and named his restaurant The Exchange. It was an immediate success and became the forerunner to five other well-received restaurants, including Bullfeathers, Cousteau's, and Madhatter. "I was like Mr. Magoo. I wandered into the business blind with no money and became successful," said Kimsey. "I like to think my talent is in finding people who have a lot of promise."

In 1982, Kimsey sold his restaurants and was looking for an investment. A West Point classmate told him about a company in the Washington metro area called Control Video, a business that allowed consumers to download video games by phone. He became involved with the company, but by 1985 it was not doing well. Close to bankruptcy, Kimsey knew he had to act quickly. He pitched the company to Apple, but when there was no interest, he decided to move his assets into a new company, Quantum Computer Services. "By then, I was fascinated with high technology," said Kimsey. He discontinued the video game part of the business and, for $50,000, bought some software from a small company that was in Troy, New York, and that could perform interactive communications for computers.

In 1990, Quantum Computer Services became America Online (AOL). Two years later, AOL went public. In 1994, Washingtonian magazine chose Kimsey as Business Leader of the Year. In 1998, he received KPMG Peat Marwick's High Tech Entrepreneur Award.

Kimsey had proved himself a leader who would accept no excuses for a failed company. "It was my job to keep the company I was in charge of from going under and to preclude my name from being associated with a bankruptcy," he said. "When you are in battle, it's your job to accomplish your mission and bring your men back alive. There's no excuse if you don't. If you're a business CEO and you don't figure out what it takes to make your company successful, there's no excuse. When you have the mindset that there is no excuse, you will be successful."