Featured Supporter: Randy Ataíde

Growing up, Ataíde had an interest in agriculture, horses and cattle, which evolved into a passion for business leadership, lifelong learning and teaching the next generation of business executives. He now lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife Ruth and serves as President of Friends of Portugal while investing in students and entrepreneurs.

Ataíde said his grandparents came to the United States from Portugal with nothing, but through their hard work and tenacity became prosperous despite the barriers they faced. He loves studying Portuguese history, current issues, economics, business, culture and wines.

Proud of his heritage, Ataíde created the first scholarship fund through the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI). 

“The scholarship is simply meant to draw a bit of attention to the Portuguese as a people that has been in the Valley for many, many years,” said Ataíde. “It is also in tribute to my grandparents, my parents and my family that went from nothing to prosperity in the San Joaquin Valley.”

The endowed scholarship funds students enrolled in Portuguese Studies, with preference given to those majoring in the Craig School of Business or Agricultural Business.

“It was a way of connecting the past and the present and the future by helping a new generation of Portuguese to be able to focus on business development, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment,” said Ataíde. “So we would be looking for people that have a real interest in business and in starting companies–and those especially who want to stay in the Valley and start companies.”

Born in Fresno, Ataíde’s parents moved to Clovis in the 1960s. Raised on a horse ranch, he graduated from Clovis High School and immediately applied to Fresno State.

“I was not a good student. I’m not fond of saying this, but I barely made it out of Clovis High,” Ataíde said. “Fresno State turned me down as a student.”

At the time, in 1976, Fresno City College was so crowded it was difficult to get classes, so Ataíde joined the U.S. Navy and was deployed overseas. The day he was discharged in July 1980, he married his wife, Ruth. When they returned to Fresno, he worked with the Veterans Affairs office at Fresno State and was able to enroll under the G.I. Bill. Just two years later, he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Speech Communication.

“I grew up a lot in the Navy,” he said. “I’m kind of the testament of somebody who has got to grow up before they’re ready for school.”

He had not planned on being a speech communication major, but during his first semester, he met communication Professor Richard Ullmann. He credits Ullmann and the other professors in the Communication Department for making him, a veteran in the shadow of the Vietnam era, welcome and accepted. Ataíde also credits his program advisor, Dr. Vince Blum, who made a lasting impact on him.

After Fresno State, Ataíde enrolled at Fresno Pacific University to pursue his M.A. in Theology and at San Joaquin College of Law to pursue a J.D. in Law. 

“I was filling soda machines and candy machines – I had a vending machine business in Fresno. Then I went to seminary in the day and law school at night,” Ataíde said. “But I couldn’t finish both programs at once.”

He left the seminary school to focus on his law degree while he continued to work. After law school and passing the Bar examination, Ataíde grew his career in the Valley’s rich agriculture industry. In 1994, he co-founded and served as CEO of Mountain View Fruit Sales and Mountain View Cold Storage in Dinuba and Reedley.

While CEO, he returned to Fresno Pacific after 20 years to finish what he started and earned his M.A. in Theology.

“I was always bothered by that. I hadn’t finished that degree at Fresno Pacific, and I wanted to wrap it up,” Ataíde said.

At the same time, he wanted to expand his worldview and began looking at universities on the East Coast to further his education. After asking around, he found the “Owners President Program” at Harvard Business School, which is designed specifically for CEOs and company owners. From 2004-2006, he attended Harvard for one month every year.

“That was really transformative and connected me more towards Europe and Africa and elsewhere, not just the Western United States and the Pacific.” 

While the combination of speech, law, theology and business may seem odd, Ataíde points out they provided him with a classic liberal arts education.

“If you would have looked at people, business leaders, 100-150 years ago, that was pretty common. A very classic liberal arts education of the 1800s and early 1900s. Today, everybody is specializing. I wanted to be more of a generalist.”

After finishing the program at Harvard, Ataíde began his second career–a professor of Entrepreneurship at the Fermanian School of Business at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. 

As a professor, Ataíde taught management, negotiations, strategy, and various related courses to both MBA and undergraduate students. He also played a significant role in leading an economic consulting institute at the University. He taught graduate business students in various courses, including negotiation strategy, value creation and entrepreneurship. He has also published extensively in many peer-reviewed journals, books, magazines, and other publications. Ataíde is a frequent speaker and commentator on various business and economic topics, including biomimicry, innovation, national defense, agriculture, competitive strategy, and entrepreneurship.

While at Point Loma, he co-founded the Da Vinci Global Index, a unique economic measurement of global biomimicry and bio-inspired activity in academia, science and business. This venture involved tracking products and industries inspired by nature with applications ranging from bullet trains to swarm intelligence to windmills. 

“An obvious example would be Velcro,” Ataíde said.”Velcro is a product inspired by cockleburrs.”

Upon retiring from the university in 2015, Ataíde found new avenues for his passion. He now enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and investing. In addition, he is President of Friends of Portugal, a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic development and entrepreneurship in Portugal, with the aim of retaining young talent and preventing further emigration from the country. He serves as a business consultant and investor and often speaks on entrepreneurship and leadership during his many trips to Portugal.

When reflecting on why he gives back through the scholarship, Ataíde recalled the kindness and grace of the Fresno State Communication Department faculty when he was a student.

“I just feel like it’s paying it forward. The impact of guys like John Cagle, Dave Natharius, Vince Bloom and George Diestel. All these guys at Fresno State 40 years ago put time and investment into me, and it’s my turn now at 65.”

Ataíde said he hopes the scholarship recipients will feel they are part of a broader Portuguese community in the Valley. He also wants to see the Valley Portuguese community continue to prosper.

“My wife and I made a decision when I was approaching 50 that we were going to take however much time God gave us to try to do something different,” Ataíde said. “It’s about how can we make better communities. And to me, the answer is by a more stable economic and wealth generation system, and that’s through entrepreneurship.”