Posted on: Thursday, March 29, 2001

O'ahu Economic Development Board to begin search for CEO

By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer

After raising $1 million in the past three months, the O'ahu Economic Development Board is re-emerging with new plans to strengthen the local economy by attracting promising businesses, new investors and former residents.

The first task, officials said yesterday, is to launch a national search for an experienced chief executive officer to guide the nonprofit organization on a newly minted 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.

The announcement comes a year after the board decided to refocus its efforts after an unsuccessful bid to recruit an economic development expert revealed a lack of agreement in the business community.

In May, the board brought in James J. McGraw Jr., managing partner of KMK Consulting Co. LLC of Cincinnati, to build consensus and draft the business plan.

McGraw, who has worked with about 60 communities on similar initiatives, said yesterday that O'ahu's business leaders simply needed to agree on taking responsibility for promoting the business climate here.

He said the Honolulu area can follow the lead of other cities that have forged public-private partnerships to encourage investment and growth.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism may make a first contact, he said, but the business community needs to follow up to ensure that O'ahu captures a fair share of interest from the Mainland and builds its image as a gateway with Asia.

"When business people do call, who takes care of them?" he asked. "Who sells them on why to place a business here?"

The new plan calls for the board to take more initiative and to emulate the efforts of what board chairman Robert Clarke called other "first-tier cities" in the United States.

Hale agreed that the effort took time to iron out goals, which include the support of existing businesses. "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 promote businesses compatible with Hawai'i lifestyles, expectations and customs, Hale said board members needed just three months to collect the $1 million from businesses.

McGraw called the fund and business plan the necessary "firepower" to attract a top professional as chief executive. "If you want somebody good in the business," he said, "you have to have enough of a business organization already in place."

Furthermore, candidates need to know their primary job will be economic development, not fund raising. He said the organization ultimately should sustain a $2 million-a-year budget.

To find the right professional, the board is contracting with Joan Jorgenson Consulting of Annapolis, Md., which Hale called the leading executive recruiter in the field. 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," Hale said.

A selection deadline will be flexible, but Hale said the board would like to appoint someone by June and have the new executive on board by the end of the summer.

Although the fundamentals of economic development are similar everywhere, McGraw said the new chief executive will be working for a community with a particularly strong sense of local identity.

"One thing I just love is this tremendous sense of loyalty to the heritage," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen it so strong as in this community."

An upshot of that loyalty, he noted, is the desire here to build enough opportunities to assure former residents that they can safely move home and find meaningful work.

Noting that Kamehameha Schools, for example, has alumni clubs in dozens of Mainland cities, McGraw observed that such loyalty should generate interest among prospective employers.

"It's really a great opportunity in that regard," he said. "There are tremendous cultural assets. But on the same token, Hawai'i isn't great for everybody."