Tourism board would hike salary for new executive director

By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer

It could take the Hawai'i Tourism Authority as long as three more months to select its next executive director, who will likely be paid between $150,000 and $400,000, according to members of the agency's board.

The board, which has said it is looking for a visionary to fill the top post, has applicants from both Hawai'i and the Mainland.

Former executive director Robert Fishman, whose contract allowed for $182,000 per year over three years, resigned in November when he was called up for active duty at the Pentagon. Richard Humphreys, the board's interim chief, took the temporary post for $1 a year.

The authority's willingness to provide a higher salary will be a key element in its ability to attract someone of the professional caliber of UH President Evan Dobelle, medical school dean Ed Cadman or football coach June Jones, said David Carey, president and chief executive of Outrigger Hotels and Resorts and a member of the authority's board.

"Our biggest industry deserves that kind of talent," Carey said.

Dobelle's base salary is $442,000, while Cadman's is $330,000. Jones reportedly makes $320,000 annually.

The governor would have to approve the salary, which would be paid for with public money and possibly supplemented with goal-based incentives financed by private business and the visitor industry.

Keith Vieira, senior vice president of Starwood Hotels and Resorts and a member of the board of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, said the board also wants to incorporate suggestions from a state audit of the agency released last week and make sure the new leader understands the accountability required of a government agency.

Vieira said he believes that the new executive director must possess a strong business background, have experience interacting with the community — and assimilate in Hawai'i — as well as understand the visitor industry.

Certain business expertise might make up for lack of direct exposure to the visitor industry, he said.