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Charles O. Heller
Author

Charles Ota Heller is the author of Out of Prague: A Memoir of Survival, Denial, and Triumph.
He is an American writer, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and teacher -- one who survived the horrors of the Second World War and escaped from communist Czechoslovakia to find success and happiness in
America. Anticipated publication date: 2010.

Charles Ota Heller is a writer, who has completed Out of Prague: A Memoir of Survival, Denial, and Triumph, a soon-to-be-published book. He is a well-known, successful businessman, investor, and teacher. He is working on two follow-on memoirs with the working titles of Cowboy from Prague and Ready, Fire, Aim: A Tale of Entrepreneurial Terror, as well as a book on entrepreneurship aimed at young people.

Although writing has not been his primary profession until recently, Charlie has spent a large proportion of his life as an author. His writing obsession began in post-war refugee camps, where he kept a journal – in the Czech language – of his family’s adventures. His first writing in English for public consumption came as sports editor of his high-school newspaper. Later, he defied the stereotype perception of a pocket-proctector-wearing engineering student, not only by earning an athletic scholarship, but by taking all his electives in the art of writing. He became a columnist, then story editor, and eventually editor, of the Oklahoma State Engineer magazine, which was named the “Best College Magazine” in the nation under his leadership.

Later, while running software companies, he led a not-so-secret “second life” for nearly 20 years as a columnist for the Baltimore News-American, Daily Record, The Public Enterprise, The Capital, and Washington Business Journal newspapers. Additionally, he authored a technical dictionary (published by Elsevier) and a number of free-lance magazine articles on business, entrepreneurship, skiing, and sailing.

With the exception of occasional management consulting assignments and service on several boards of directors, he is now a full-time writer. In the past, he has been: a venture capitalist – Director of Athlone Global Security and General Partner of Gabriel Venture Partners; an academic – Director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy; an entrepreneur – co-founder and CEO of two software companies, Intercad Corporation and CADCOM, Inc.; and an engineer – involved in pioneer design work in America’s early space program.

Currently, he is a board member of FBR Mutual Funds, Walden University, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Chesapeake Innovation Center, WebTide Technologies, Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and The Country Club at Woodmore. Charlie holds three engineering degrees: BS and MS from Oklahoma State University, and Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He was the recipient of: Maryland’s “Entrepreneur-of-the-Year” award, OSU’s Lohmann Medal, and CUA’s Alumni Achievement Award. He was named “Outstanding Graduate” at OSU, “Outstanding Teacher” at the Naval Academy, and one of “The Top Fifty Most Influential People in Technology” by digitalsouth magazine. The University of Maryland appointed him the first Professor of Practice (clinical professor) in its history.

He is married to Sue; has one son, David; a daughter-in-law, Bobbi; and three grandchildren, Sam, Sarah, and Caroline. He and Sue live outside of Annapolis, Maryland. Besides writing, his favorite activities consist of reading, downhill and cross-country skiing, golf, boating, and hiking.

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