Class of 1986
Randy Ataide cannot be defined by any one specific enterprise. Having served in the U.S. Navy for four years and collecting numerous awards and medals, he focused on Speech Communication and Theology upon turning his focus to higher education. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fresno State, a Master’s from the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and his Juris Doctor from SJCL, Randy completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Management Program, as well as the Harvard Business School Owner-President Management Program…AND - he was selected as his class commencement speaker upon completion of the Harvard program.
From 1984 to 1994, Randy served as Corporate Counsel for the Laemmlen Family Farming Enterprises in Reedley. In 1994, Randy co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Mountain View Fruit Sales, Mountain View Cold Storage, and Summeripe Worldwide LLC, all inter-related and diversified agricultural companies based near Fresno.
He is also an active investor and partner in multiple startups and ventures in California, Oregon, and Utah, and serves on the advisory or executive boards of various businesses and nonprofits including: Friends of Portugal, Cura Coffee Company (which is related to a program for sustainable dental care for people in Nicaragua and the U.S.), and Fresno Pacific University’s Biblical Seminary Committee.
From 2005-2014 Randy served as Executive Director and later Associate Dean for Business and Economic Development at the Fermanian School of Business at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Deigo. He has served as Executive Editor of over a dozen published reports and research projects. In 2010 he was named one of “San Diego’s Top 50 Influentials” by the San Diego Daily Transcript. He was the first Professor of Entrepreneurship at Point Loma Nazarene University and taught in the undergraduate and MBA programs. Randy is frequently invited to speak on topics that include innovation, value creation, national defense, agriculture, competitive strategy, and entrepreneurship, both locally and overseas.
Throughout the past 20 years, Randy has traveled to Portugal to partner with a number of initiatives, events, and projects with several related to the non-profit Friends of Portugal organization. Through it, he helped to create an entrepreneurial co-space and social innovation accelerator called “ A Ponte” in Loures, a suburb of Lisbon. In addition to working with his partners in real estate development in the vacation rental market in Portugal, he is a recurring business columnist to a Portuguese media platform and magazine.
Randy and his wife of 43 years, Ruth Laemmlen Ataide, reside in Shavano Park near San Antonio Texas, and have three grown children and five wonderful grandchildren. They are deeply committed to education and lifelong learning, and through their Ataide Family Charitable Fund, have funded numerous endowed scholarships, awards, and gifts, including a scholarship at SJCL. These donations to Elementary Schools, High Schools, and various Colleges and Universities in several states and in Portugal, focus on encouraging entrepreneurship, the startup eco-system, and community development.