Susan Atherton

Executive Fellows: Integrity, Tenacity, Service

ilseu — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 00:36:07 +0000

Executive Fellows: Integrity, Tenacity, Service ilseu Mon, 11/01/2021 - 17:36 More News November 02, 2021

A few years after she founded Stronghold Engineering, Inc., Beverly Bailey was at a job site when an engineer made a remark she has not forgotten for 25 years.

“He told me that he believed that women belonged in kitchens,” said Bailey, president and CEO of a company that has grown into one of the nation’s top 10 minority- and women-owned construction companies. “Today, I'm building kitchens.”

Sharing that story during a recent Executive Fellows Industry Discussion Series, Bailey went on to explain how she immersed herself in her male-dominated industry. Her determination equipped her with the knowledge, experience, and the ability to go “toe-to-toe with anyone I encountered.”

Integrity and perseverance were common topics as five accomplished business executives kicked off the first in a series of virtual panel discussions. The panelists, who have served as UCR School of Business Executive Fellows, discussed how they define success personally and professionally, facing fears, the importance of hard work, and the obligations of leadership.

The panel was moderated by Darin Anderson ’89, MBA ’91, chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, Inc., a leading consulting engineering firm with over 1,300 team members across 51 North American offices.

In addition to Bailey, panelists included:

Susan Atherton ’77, independent philanthropist, co-chair of the board of directors for Humane Society of the U.S. and chair of the board of directors for Humane Society International.

Timothy Greenleaf ’78, an active venture capital investor and an advisor to three venture capital funds who served as managing director of Fairmont Capital (1999–2018) and was co-founder and board member of Green Dot (1999-2016).

Michael Zemetra ’93, executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Veritone, Inc., a leading provider of artificial intelligence technology and creator of aiWARE, the world’s first operating system for artificial intelligence.

Moderator (top left) and panelists of the inaugural UCR School of Business Executive Fellows Industry Panel Discussion 2021

Anderson began by asking the group what attributes were most important to their success.

“One of the things that I see is so important is integrity,” said Atherton, whose background includes executive management positions in the enterprise software and cloud computing industries. “I really also encourage younger students to follow their passion as much as possible. Instead of pursuing what you think is the greatest paying job and the fastest way to get there, pursue what you care about, what matters to you.”

The other panelists agreed that integrity is an essential leadership quality. “You have to walk it, you have to show it, you have to demonstrate it,” said Greenleaf, who also cited the need to be innovative, curious, and relentless.

Zemetra echoed those comments, adding additional key qualities: resilience, vision, passion, and finding balance in life.

“Balance is super important,” he said. “Whether it's family or just understanding your employees and who they are as humans.”

Bailey added perseverance and commitment to the list.

“In an age where everything is instant, everyone would like to have instant success immediately,” she said. “And being a business person/entrepreneur, we know that nothing comes that easy. You have to work toward it.”

One of the common themes that emerged frequently during the discussion was the responsibility of business leaders to share success and give back – to their communities as well as their employees.

“I'm going to put my CFO hat on and tell you success is about shareholder return … But doing that with honesty and integrity is key,” Zemetra said. “It’s important to be able to make meaningful contributions back to the community, whether it's hiring employees or doing philanthropic work. I always stress balanced lives for employees, our biggest assets.”

That perspective was amplified when Anderson asked the panel to describe what they would like their legacy to be.

“I would say I want my legacy to be that I was a good person, that I was ethical and fair in my judgment, but also that I created a lot of businesses that created a lot of jobs to help a lot of other good people be good parents to create their own legacies,” Greenleaf said.

You can view a recording of the full-length panel discussion here:

View video

____________

Pictured are Darin Anderson '89, MBA '91 (left) and Susan Atherton '77 (right)

Women Leaders Establish Scholarships, Endowments

ilseu — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 21:50:55 +0000

Women Leaders Establish Scholarships, Endowments ilseu Tue, 03/30/2021 - 14:50 More Blog Posts March 29, 2021

Recognizing women in leadership, we celebrate three women who are making history with the UCR School of Business.

Animal Advocate and High-tech Industry Veteran Looks to the Future

Having served on the UCR Foundation’s board of trustees since 2014, Susan Atherton ’77 established the Susan Atherton Endowed Graduate Award Fund, and she has a deep interest in the students whose lives are changed with a business education. A veteran of the high-tech industry, Atherton is also a long-time advocate for animals and serves on the directors’ boards of the Humane Society both nationally and internationally.

Riverside Entrepreneur Helps Students Understand Business

The co-founder and executive vice president of SolarMax Technology Inc., Ching Liu, supports students through the SolarMax Endowed Graduate Fellowship Fund and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. As a UCR Business School executive fellow, she illuminates the real world of business for students and hosts lectures at her company’s Riverside manufacturing plant, a historic building that once housed a World War II tank factory.

Learn more about Liu’s impressive entrepreneurial success

The Importance of Investing in Causes that Matter

Investment expert and alumna Patricia Watters ’95, co-founder of Catalina Consulting Partners, established the Patricia A. Watters and Richard K. Lashbrook Endowed Student Award. She is also an executive fellow at UCR’s Business School and contributed to the Amnon Rapport Endowed Research Award Fund. Having earned both a master’s in economics and a doctoral degree in financial economics at UCR, she is deeply committed to the success of students and fellow alumni.

UCR Opened Doors for Philanthropist

ilseu — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 16:08:53 +0000

UCR Opened Doors for Philanthropist ilseu Tue, 03/23/2021 - 09:08 More News Darin Estep March 23, 2021

In recognition of Women’s History Month, we take a look at some of the women who are making their own history with the UCR School of Business.

If Susan Atherton thinks about it, her connection with UC Riverside has really come full circle in the time since she enrolled as a 17-year-old, first-generation college student.

After earning degrees in Business Administrative Studies and Economics in 1977, she forged a successful career in the male-dominated high-tech industry by working hard and focusing on her objectives. Today, that focus has turned to her philanthropic causes – including helping students like her 17-year-old self.

Susan Atherton

“I am so proud of UCR as a leading university for social mobility,” Atherton said. “I’m an example of that, and it’s emotional for me when I consider the opportunity that UCR provided.”

She has served on the UCR Foundation Board of Trustees since July 2014 and currently serves as the immediate past chair of the board and as the co-chair of the Student Success Initiative. She has served as an Executive Fellow for the School of Business, and in 2015 established the Susan Atherton Endowed Graduate Award Fund to support students in the Anderson Graduate School of Management.

“If you had asked me when I graduated, ‘What would you think if I said you would be chair of the foundation board?’ I would have laughed,” Atherton said.

Today, however, she takes such roles very seriously as an independent philanthropist. The long-time advocate for animals also serves as chair of the Board of Directors for Humane Society International and co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Humane Society of the United States.

Pursuing a passion

Susan Atherton, a long-time advocate for animals who currently serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for Humane Society International and as co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Humane Society of the United States, is shown with her rescue dog, Simba.

These wide-ranging philanthropic efforts have something in common: They are reflections of Atherton’s determination to pursue causes that are important to her.

It is the same approach she took in her business career, which included executive management positions in the enterprise software and cloud computing industries, working at NCR Corporation, GE Information Systems, Oracle Corporation, Rightpoint and DoubleClick.

At the time she began her career, the tech industry was “very much a male-dominated field,” she said, with “deals cut on the golf course and cigars after dinner.” But she succeeded by focusing on her objectives – advice she has shared with students as an Executive Fellow.

“Do good work, stay focused, continue to politely and firmly fight on behalf of yourself,” she said. “It’s important to follow your passions. You’ll be more successful that way. That doesn’t mean you don’t need a good job. Just choose something you enjoy and continue to strive toward roles that provide satisfaction in your work.”

Atherton grew up in Ventura County and moved to San Francisco in 1992, where she lives with her husband and fellow alum Dr. David K. Shuh (’83 BS chemistry) and their beloved rescue dog, Simba.

She remains a passionate advocate for UCR, its growth and the opportunities it provides to students.

“I have such great admiration for what UC Riverside has become,” she said, pointing to its enrollment of more students with Pell Grants than the entire Ivy League combined.

“To me, providing that kind of opportunity represents the best of California,” she said. “It represents who we are as a state, and who we are as a nation. This is really about making a difference in people’s lives.”