Fresno State alumnus and longtime supporter R. Stephen Heinrichs received this year’s California State University, Fresno Foundation Award.
The award was presented to Heinrichs at the university’s Pinnacle Society Dinner on Friday, May 9 at the University House.
According to Debbie Adishian-Astone, Fresno State Foundation executive director and associate vice president for Auxiliary Operations, the Foundation Award is given to an individual for meritorious services and contributions made to Fresno State and the community. “Recipients have achieved stature in their field of endeavor, which reflects favorably upon the greater Fresno community and have demonstrated significant and distinguished leadership in the affairs of the university,” she said.
Heinrichs, an accountant and private investor, was raised in the Central Valley and graduated from Reedley High School. He earned a bachelor’s in accounting from Fresno State in 1968. Heinrichs joined Arthur Andersen & Co. in 1969 in Chicago and later was assigned to San Francisco and The Hague. In 1975 he joined URS Corporation, a publicly traded engineering firm, and served as chief financial officer.
In 1979, Heinrichs became the chief financial officer of the Teknekron group, a self-funded, venture-oriented organization dedicated to the formation of new companies.
After a two-year retirement, Heinrichs became one of the founders of Visionary Corporate Technologies, a firm built largely on the Teknekron model, and started two companies and acquired another firm from its venture capital owners. After turning around the latter company (where he served as the chairman) the company was sold to a public firm.
Heinrichs has served as a director of a number of public companies. He currently is a director of PDF Solutions, Inc. and chairs the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee.
Heinrichs received the Fresno State Alumni Association’s Top Dog Alumni Award for the Craig School of Business in 2008. He is a Sigma Chi and served his Fresno State chapter as treasurer and as president. He was later international treasurer.
Click here to view a list of the previous Foundation Award Recipients.
