Posted on: Wednesday, March 28, 2001

O'ahu business board raises $1M

By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer

After raising $1 million from local businesses, leaders of the O'ahu Economic Development Board said today they are embarking on a national search for an experienced chief executive officer to attract new enterprises and more high-paying jobs to the island.

Officials said they're looking for a person with a successful track record to steer the nonprofit organization as it begins a new five-year business plan called Target 2005.

"We're obviously looking for someone who has an understanding of Hawai'i and whose goals and objectives are compatible with the objectives here," said board member and spokesman Rob Hale, a vice chairman of Architects Hawai'i.

Today's announcement comes a year after the board declared the need to refocus after an earlier attempt to recruit an economic development expert revealed a lack of consensus in the business community. Since then the board has brought in consultant James J. McGraw Jr., managing partner of KMK Consulting Co. LLC of Cincinnati, to help build consensus and draw up the business plan.

Hale said the effort took some working out of goals. "The words 'economic development' mean a lot of things to a lot of different people," he said.

With a business plan completed and agreement to retain and recruit businesses compatible with Hawai'i lifestyles, expectations and customs, Hale said, board members collected the $1 million in donations in three months.

The board's aim is to boost O'ahu's business profile, said board chairman Robert Clarke, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.

"First-tier cities all across the U.S. have organizations like OEDB, and it's time for O'ahu to emulate their success," Clarke said.

Hiring a top-notch professional is the first step. The board is contracting with Joan Jorgenson Consulting of Annapolis, Md., which Hale called the leading executive recruiter in the field. He said the search will cover Hawai'i and the Mainland.

"We would expect that our ideal candidate will be succeeding somewhere else or has a track record of success," he said.

The hiring deadline will be flexible to accommodate the board's high standards, but Hale said the board would like to make an agreement by June and have the new executive on board by the end of the summer.