Financier filling in at Hawai'i Tourism Authority

By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority named financial executive Richard Humphreys as the board's interim chief executive officer today for the sum of $1 a year, effective immediately.

Humphreys, a former top executive with numerous Hawai'i financial institutions including Amfac Financial, First Federal Savings & Loan, and Bank of Hawaii, will replace Robert Fishman, who was called to active military duty at the Pentagon.

"One thing we were all worried about was the gap between when Bob had to leave and finding a permanent replacement," Humph-reys said. "We want to make sure there's no break in what the authority plans to do, especially during this time. ... This is the time when we don't need any gaps in our promotion of the visitor industry."

The tourism authority already has been wrestling with ways to bring the state's struggling No. 1 industry back from the edge after the attacks of Sept. 11 plunged tourism worldwide into crisis.

Authority board chairman Roy Tokujo said Humphreys will provide the stability the board needs to work through those issues, and will bring a new perspective to an organization composed almost entirely of visitor industry executives.

"He will be able to give us insight into how we can develop the tourist industry not just from a purely hotel and attractions point of view," Tokujo said. "Hopefully, he'll give us a different point of view that maybe we haven't explored before. He'll give us a new depth of thinking that we need at this particular time."

Finding a permanent replacement could take three to six months, Tokujo said.

Humphreys is an independent consultant to the developers of a luxury housing project on the Big Island called Hokuli'a and in September also launched a factoring business called Hawaii Receivables Management that has four employees.

The 700-home Hokuli'a project north of Kealakekua Bay has at times drawn the ire of some Hawaiian and environmental groups. The Hawaiian groups argued that the development was disturbing burial sites, and earlier this year Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra granted a temporary restraining order that allowed unannounced access to the construction site by direct or cultural descendants to monitor the court order.

Humphreys, who gave up his post as president of the project in June and is now a consultant to the developer, said the project is proceeding and that he does not expect any controversy over his appointment to the tourism authority.

"Obviously, I was the president of the project, but I don't see any conflict whatsoever," he said. "I hope everyone supports the authority and myself in trying to accomplish everything we're trying to do in this tough time here in Hawai'i."

Humphreys was Hawai'i chairman of the Bank of America from 1993 to 1998. He is also a former Convention Center Authority member. He attended Punahou School and graduated from Menlo College in California. He sits on the board of several Hawai'i nonprofit organizations.