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A first-generation college student with five siblings, Richard “Rick” Juarez grew up in San Lorenzo, California, where he played high school football and was student body president. He attended Chabot College and then transferred to Cal State East Bay, then called Cal State Hayward. Rick supported himself through college with off-campus jobs including working full time at Safeway whenever he could and taking holiday and nighttime shifts that paid more. He received a scholarship and emergency loans during various times of need. 

Rick received his B.S. in Business Administration with a Finance concentration, Magna cum Laude, from California State University, East Bay. He earned his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He was the first of his siblings to achieve college degrees, modeling for two of his sisters, who later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well. 

Rick Juarez is an investment banking Managing Director at Imperial Capital, where he focuses on cloud security and infrastructure software and service. He is a former Wall Street analyst and he has also been awarded several U.S. Patent Office software patents.

Rick recently established the Richard A. Juarez Excellence in Finance Scholarship through his estate plans. The scholarship will be awarded to a first-generation Cal State East Bay student majoring in Finance, who is also involved with supporting the Hispanic, Latinx, or Chicanx communities. Recipients must demonstrate financial need and the ability to strive for and achieve excellence in their coursework and activities. 

 “I created a scholarship to inspire students to strive for academic excellence and to pursue careers in finance, while also giving back to their communities,” said Juarez. “I want to ease the financial burden that many students face in paying for college. I want to help others, just like I was helped as I moved forward in my academic and professional career.” 

A volunteer for Cal State East Bay since 2018, Rick is a member of the College of Business Advisory Board and has served as a judge for the College’s student business plan competition.