Posted on: Friday, August 22, 2003
Search on for HVCB chief
Advertiser Staff
TONY GUERRERO
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The HVCB, which has been selling the Islands to visitors worldwide for years, is seeking a permanent replacement for Tony Vericella, who resigned in July after a state audit ctiticized the agency for its accounting practices and inappropriate use of state money.
"There has been a lot of interest, a lot of applications," said Guerrero.
The HVCB board hired executive search firm Inkinen & Associates to narrow the field to four or five final candidates from which the board will make a selection.
"They are looking for a visionary, a CEO or president with great administrative skills and one that knows our visitor industry well," said Kathryn Inkinen, president of Inkinen & Associates. "Our job is to communicate to obvious and maybe not so obvious candidates, to seek those people out."
Guerrero said the only person he knows for sure is a candidate is Les Enderton, the interim president and chief executive officer who took over after Vericella's departure. "Les will be a candidate and has been doing a good job for us," said Guerrero.
The new HVCB president will be taking on a somewhat reduced role. The HVCB has long held the contract to promote Hawai'i to the world, but the Hawai'i Tourism Authority voted last month to parcel out the $25 million state contract for tourism marketing, with HVCB receiving the largest slice as the marketer for North America.
Dentsu Inc. was selected to market Hawai'i to Japan, Marketing Garden to the rest of Asia, The Mangum Group to Europe and The Walshe Group to Oceania.