Randy Ryals

Randy Ryals grew up in Missouri in a family where card games were always being played, but it was not until his senior year in high school that he discovered bridge. Once he did he was hooked. College consisted of some courses with lots of bridge in between.

After college he moved to Silicon Valley and has had a career in software engineering here for more than 30 years. He has been part of two highly successful startups, co-founding one of them. He is currently employed by Alcatel-Lucent as the manager of a hardware engineering software team responsible for support related to the development and manufacturing of new hardware products.

Sadly, the time demands of his career and raising a family did not allow him to continue playing bridge. But after 25 years away from the game he rediscovered the extreme satisfaction (and occasional frustration) of the game he had so enjoyed in college. The support of his family and the patience of his partners has allowed him to obtain the rank of Bronze Life Master in bridge. He regularly attends all local tournaments and when possible the national ones as well. He has no plans to stop playing again.

Recently he helped organize the participation of Unit 503 in the ACBL's partnership with the Alzheimer's Association in their Longest Day event. Having become an accredited bridge teacher he is looking forward to introducing the game of bridge to a new generation.