Van Arnem

Technology Pioneer

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Few people have had a more fascinating personal and business life than Harold "Sonny" Van Arnem. From a Midwest middle-class family, he surmounted a range of obstacles, including a near-fatal accident that ended what might have been a career as a professional athlete, to ride America's computer revolution from its first primitive days. As one of the most successful pioneers of computer systems and software development and leasing, he accumulated assets enabling him to purchase professional sports teams and socialize among some of the world's wealthiest and most colorful personalities. His adve...

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Harold "Sonny" Van Arnem was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of a former athlete who, having lost a substantial investment in home building, raised his family by working at General Electric Corporation.Unfocused at Purcell high school, Sonny found his footing on the football field where future NFL Hall of Fame inductee Roger Staubach was among his teammates. Sonny was elected team captain and might have enjoyed a professional sports career as successful as Staubach's except for a horrifying accident that left him severely injured.Van Arnem managed to come back, winning a scholarship and playing for both Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati before accepting a job with GE's Computer Division. After rising to a top position in computer sales, he left GE to launch his own computer timesharing as well as an early software firm in Silicon Valley, where he became a prime contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense.This marked the first step in a whirlwind of business and personal adventures that included co-developing the doctoral program in computer engineering and software for ILLIAC IV, the world's largest computer at Ames Research Center, located at Moffet Field in California. After meeting and being inspired by the legendary Roger Penske, Sonny participated in auto racing and, along with his partner, won the SCAA Trans A championship.Other sports seized his imagination and talent. As general partner and owner of the Detroit Express professional soccer team, he watched the Express win the league championship before assuming the position of league commissioner. He also foresaw the growth of sports and entertainment as a pillar of cable TV long before the advent of ESPN. His efforts to purchase the Detroit Red Wings and Pontiac Silverdome, planning to convert it into a unique performance and broadcast facility, epitomized his talent as a sports and broadcast visionary.His interests extended all the way to Hollywood and beyond. Based on his racing experience, he became co-producer of "The Quick and the Dead", a major motion picture starring Stacey Keach and Jackie Stewart. Partnering with actor George Hamilton, he also co-produced the blockbuster Dracula spoof "Love at First Bite". Van Arnem's involvement with Hamilton and other Tinsel Town personalities serves as a humorous lesson about the ins and the outs of the movie industry.In other areas, success and tragedy ensued. His fabled vision served him again when he built first, one of the world's largest technology finance and leasing companies, and later created an early Internet Service Provider and web-hosting company. On a darker front, his beautiful and immensely talented daughter Heidi was shot in the neck, severing her spinal cord and leaving her a quadriplegic. Reflecting her father's spirit and courage, she refused to have the tragedy ruin her life and became a leader in the cause to obtain services and support for handicapped persons, winning recognition and an award from U.S. President Clinton.Currently active in property development and management in south Florida, Sonny Van Arnem continues to set and achieve goals that amaze those who do not share his energy and determination.