Fred Armendariz graduated from Mater Dei High School in 1979 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Southern California. In 1989, he founded Advanced Business Management, an Irvine-based office equipment distributor that specialized in high-speed laser and digital imaging machines. In 1998, Armendariz founded Digikon USA, a nationwide sales and marketing group that assists the auto, financial and law enforcement industries with the disposal of returned, seized and repossessed assets. After George W. Bush was elected, Small Business Adinistration administrator Hector Barreto chose Armendariz to be an associate deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration, in charge of the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. Armendariz resigned in the fall of 2003 and went into the used luxury car business. In 2005 he was appointed to the appeals board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Armendariz is also on the boards of the Orange County Lincoln Club, for which he was chairman of the Hispanic-Outreach Program and the Business Credit Advisory Council. He contributed $2,000 to the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign, $1,500 to Republican Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher’s campaign in 2010, and $199 to Republican Diane Harkley’s Assembly campaign.

He and his wife, Amy, have three children.

Board Members (Official appeals board site)