Dewey Altenhofen

Southern California native Dewey Altenhofen discovered skills for sales and networking at the tender age of 6 or 7. This was while selling items — candy, magazines, etc. — door-to-door in his neighborhood, in order to raise money for the elementary school he attended.

But his entrepreneurial path was just getting started. He performed whatever jobs he could pick up: sweeping neighbors porches, hosing down driveways, painting a fence, feeding pets. From grade school on, he always knew he wanted to own and run a company.

After graduating high school he spent some time at Junior College. But the allure of the business world was too strong, and he was soon employed at various companies; always in sales. One of those jobs funded his next foray into the academic world: he attended the Pepperdine University School of Business Management at night while working full-time.

One of the companies he worked for was a semiconductor distributor — an industry for which Dewey found he had an affinity. With his natural entrepreneurial bent now enhanced by both his studies and experience, in 2002 he founded United Pacific Electronics.

When not working, Dewey still likes riding bikes, spending time with his grandkids, and traveling back to his family’s farm in Iowa.