Linda Arneson: Delta Dental COO applies lessons learned on athletic fields.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: EXECUTIVE edge

WHEN LINDA ARNESON STARTED HER career at Delta Dental, she worked out oldie basement of a two-bedroom apartment in central Denver. At age 18, she would painstakingly file paperwork as a temp worker in an effort to gain business experience.

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In 1972, the graduate of Aurora's Hinkley High School was hired lull time and by age 26 was in management. Forty years later and seven moves to new locales before landing in the Denver Tech Center, Arneson is chief operating officer of Colorado's oldest and largest dental-benefits company, serving more than 1 million members.

"When I started, everything was done by hand." recalls Arneson, 59, who would ultimately oversee the automation of claims as one of her many jobs through the decades. "As the business changed, I began to move up and move around the organization. I pretty much worked in all the departments, so I have a broad view of the company.

"One of the reasons I've been at Delta Dental for 40 years is that I have been able to be in a position where I could be creative and come up with things that were new. I've been able to create all these opportunities here and didn't need to go anywhere else."

At age 42 she earned a business degree from Regis University, regularly bringing what she learned in the classroom to the workplace.

"I don't know if I had gone to college at another time if I would have gotten the value out of my college education," Arneson said. "Working here, I had a place to try things out. I didn't just read it in a book and put my book down; I put what I learned into practice."

Arneson's father was a mechanic for Western Airlines. Her mother worked part-time in admissions at St. Joseph Hospital. Growing up, she never gave a thought to becoming a business executive.

But in a pre-Title IX era, Arneson was very involved in sports, particularly track and field and...