Robert J. "Bobby" Pfeiffer, a descendant of eight generations of seamen, got his first job at age 12: He was a deck hand on a tugboat in Honolulu Harbor, a noble beginning for any working man of the sea.
But Pfeiffer rose to some of the loftiest heights of the corporate maritime world, serving as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Alexander & Baldwin and president of its subsidiary, Matson Navigation Co. During his 38-year career with the companies, Pfeiffer guided their transformation into successful corporate citizens of Hawai'i.
Pfeiffer's great love for Hawai'i could be traced to his youth.
He was born in Fiji in 1920, but his family moved to the Big Island the next year. He spent his childhood in Hilo and Ka'u learning to speak Hawaiian, playing the 'ukulele and dancing the hula before his family moved to Honolulu in 1929.
While at McKinley High School, Pfeiffer earned an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy but had to abandon his plans to attend West Point when his father lost his job just before graduation in 1937. Instead, he began his adult maritime career at Inter-Island Steam Navigation.
He joined Matson in 1956. Six years later, he was named president of Matson Terminals. In 1973, he became president of Matson Navigation Co. and directed a $400 million capital improvement program. Pfeiffer became president of A&B in 1979.
Pfeiffer loved the ocean all his life. Friends affectionately called him "an old sea dog." He was a hands-on, people-oriented manager who spent time getting to know his employees and sharing his motto: Imua, Hawaiian for "Go forward."
Pfeiffer retired in 1999 and had taken residence in in Orinda, Calif., when he died in 2003. He was 83.
