David Solomon

David is fourth generation of his family resident in Phillips County, Arkansas.  His family was involved in merchandising, farming, and banking.  In addition, his father, a graduate from Harvard Law School, maintained a practice as well as running the family businesses. He is the oldest of three brothers, one a law school dean and the other a career lawyer at the NLRB. He went to the local school system through the 7th grade; then was enrolled in the 9th grade in a private boarding high school in St. Louis; then went to Harvard at age 16.

He left Harvard after two years, served in the First Infantry Division for two years, including 1965 – 1966 in Vietnam. He left the Army with the rank of E-5 and a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service.

He returned to Harvard, graduated in 1968, and then went to work as the third employee at a private startup IT company supplying sophisticated application services for a vertical market segment. In thirty-three years, he was successively CFO, COO, and a major shareholder. The company grew to over $100 million in sales and over 1,000 employees in six countries. He retired in 2001, went to NYU graduate school receiving two MA’s, one in archival management and one in American history.  At the same time, he served as the executive director of the American Jewish Historical Society and also as a consultant in IT and corporate strategy to a major educational organization.