James Edward "Jim" Arnold (May 7, 1939 – October 4, 2007) was a prominent American businessman. Arnold was one of Pirelli North America's last presidents and was also the president of Bohn Aluminum and a major consultant to Wicks (a group most famous for its ownership of the Lowe's hardware chain).

Professional career

At the age of seventeen Arnold joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

; he quickly rose to a position in the Green Berets (a part of the U.S. Special Forces) after service and training in the Army Airborne. Arnold served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and part of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

before leaving the army. Following his service in the army, Arnold began work with General Cable in California. He advanced within General Cable to its presidency after managing numerous plants. When Pirelli acquired General Cable, Arnold became head of its U.S. cable company. Upon the merger of Pirelli Cable's U.S. division with its Canadian division, Arnold became President and CEO of Pirelli North America,Societe Pirelli Internationale 1976 working in South Carolina, Michigan and New York. Arnold retired from his position as head of the company at the age of forty-two. During his retirement, Arnold became head of Bohn Aluminum and oversaw its sale. After the conclusion of this sale, Arnold acquired and headed a number of companies (including paint and pesticide companies) as he became interested in various businesses. Arnold also worked during his official retirement as a consultant to the Wicks Group, owner of hardware chain Lowe's. In addition Arnold headed the short-lived DDM food company (a shelf-stable foods producer), of South Carolina.

Personal life

Shortly after his birth, Arnold's family moved to

Del Rey, California Del Rey (Spanish for "of the King") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 1,639 at the 2010 census, up from 950 at the 2000 census. Del Rey is located south-southwest of Sanger, at an ...

, a small agricultural town in Central California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, James Edward 1939 births 2007 deaths Businesspeople from California United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War People from Fresno County, California United States Army soldiers 20th-century American businesspeople