Trade Winds

Advertiser Staff

• KARL WISSMANN, former senior vice president for Ralphs Grocery Co. in California, has been named vice president and chief operating officer of Star Markets. He will oversee day-to-day operations of the family-owned grocery retailers' 10 stores on O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i.

• Broadband iTV (BBiTV), offered locally by Oceanic Time Warner on digital channel 326, the nation's first interactive cable channel offering on-demand information about local products and services, has hired MATTHEW CONNELLY as director of finance. Connelly was most recently, founder and principal of MXC Consulting in Atlanta, which conducted valuation and financial/operational consulting for small to middle market companies, including Cheap Tickets, Inc.

• First Hawaiian Bank has promoted four key senior managers to executive vice presidents:

• EDWARD PEI, 31-year First Hawaiian veteran and manager of the Consumer Banking Group, supervising credit and debit cards, merchant services and residential real estate lending.
• MARK FELMET, who for 22 years has overseen the Dealer Center, the bank's automobile lending arm, now manager of the Consumer Lending Group, overseeing consumer credit, as well as automobile lending to dealers and consumers.
• ROBERT FUJIOKA, appointed earlier this year as head of the Commercial Banking Group, with responsibility for commercial real-estate lending, corporate lending, leasing, cash management and commercial servicing.
• RAYMOND ONO, manager of Business Banking and the Main Banking Center, the bank's flagship branch; and past manager of several First Hawaiian branches, including Hawai'i Kai, Wailuku, Kahului, King Banking Center and University Banking Center.

• ANNE MURATA, group publisher for the Guest Informant visitor information publications in Hawai'i, has been promoted to the newly created position of national marketing manager. In the new position, she will supervise national research, branding and marketing activities for the 20-year-old Mainland company, from the Honolulu office. Murata, who will continue her duties as Hawai'i group publisher, is former president of Murata Creative advertising and marketing company, of Honolulu. Locally, the Guest Informant publications are distributed in 33,000 hotel rooms on four islands, and read by about 5.2 million visitors annually. Nationally, the publications are seen in about 32 cities and resorts nationwide.

Also announced at Guest Informant:

• O'ahu sales manager PATTI RUESCH, promoted to Hawai'i sales manager.
• GWENDOLYN TROWBRIDGE, appointed account executive in the Hawai'i sales team.

• Twenty-year finance, accounting and tax veteran HARVEY RACKMIL has been named chief financial officer of HonBlue Inc., including its various businesses, Electric Pencil, Best Printing, JetGraphics, Records Management Hawai'i and Blackbird. He will oversee the financial operations of a family-owned business that has grown from a blueprinting business in 1967, to a diversified, multi-discipline, high-technology service enterprise with offices in Hawai'i, California and Michigan. Rackmil most recently was senior tax manager for Arthur Andersen's Honolulu office; and before that a tax manager for KPMG in Honolulu and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

• England native ANDREW MANION-COPLEY has been named Turtle Bay Resort executive chef, overseeing all the 401-room/42 cottage, 800-acre North Shore resort's dining outlets: including the 21-North signature restaurant; the beachside, Sand Bar; poolside Hang 10 Bar; Palm Terrace, and the Surf Room Sunday brunch. The prize-winning chef has also worked at the Ritz Carlton Maui and The Lodge at Ko'ele on Lana'i.

• JONI PAAHAO, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawai'i, has been named the 2003 chairperson of the O'ahu Visitors Bureau, this island's chapter of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau. Paahao was named among the "Top 50 Women in Travel" by Travel Agent Magazine two years running.

Announcements of promotions and job changes can be sent to: Trade Winds, Business Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Hono-lulu, HI 96802; faxed to 525-6763, or e-mailed to business@honoluluadvertiser.com. Photographs may be included, but must be identified on the back.