Posted on: Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Secretary general Lees leaving PBEC

By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer

Robert Lees is leaving his job as secretary general of the Honolulu-based Pacific Basin Economic Council at the end of the month after nine years on the job.

"I'm real, real proud of what we've done over the last nine years, but it's just time to shift gears and do something a little different," he said.

Lees, 52, said he told PBEC's board of directors at its international general meeting in Tokyo in April of his intention to leave at the end of the year.

The organization is conducting a search for his replacement, Lees said, and he expects an announcement will be made by Nov. 30.

Lees constantly promoted Hawai'i's potential as an international business center. While he plans to spend time during the holidays mulling his options, he said he would like to put his expertise to use in the private sector locally.

PBEC, which was founded in 1967, is an organization of chief executive officers and other senior business leaders from more than 1,000 of the largest corporations in the Pacific region. According to the organization, PBEC member companies employ more than 10 million people and generate annual sales in excess of $4 trillion.

Lees said that during his tenure, corporate membership grew from 700 to its current level, the endowment fund grew to more than $3 million, and the number of countries in the organization grew from 13 to 20. Lees also helped move PBEC's headquarters from San Francisco to Honolulu, and helped persuade the organization to hold its international general meeting in Honolulu in 2000.

Lees said he and his wife, Yuko, consider Hawai'i home. "If we do have to go, certainly the heart is going to stay right here, and I'm going to do my best to promote Hawai'i as a great place to invest and to visit and to live."