A&B, Matson pioneer 'Bobby' Pfeiffer, dead at 83
Associated Press
Robert J. "Bobby" Pfeiffer, who rose from deckhand to lead Alexander & Baldwin through one of its strongest periods of growth and prosperity, died Friday at his home in Orinda, Calif., after a long illness, according to a statement from the company. He was 83.
Pfeiffer retired in 1999 after nearly 38 years with A&B and its subsidiary, Matson Navigation Co. He was president of Matson for 19 years, and chairman, president and chief executive officer of A&B for more than 12 years.
Robert Pfeiffer
Upon his retirement, the boards of A&B and Matson named Pfeiffer chairman emeritus. He kept regular hours at Matson headquarters in San Francisco until shortly before his death, the company said in a statement yesterday.
In the early 1960s, Pfeiffer worked with Harry Bridges, president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, to develop the Mechanization and Modernization Agreement that established procedures for handling of containerized cargo.
"He was completely devoted to A&B, to Matson and to the maritime community, having risen through the ranks to become an industry giant," said A&B chairman Charles M. Stockholm. "Along the way, he pioneered many innovations that were instrumental in enhancing the industry."
Pfeiffer's favorite motto was "imua," or "go forward," and he brought that spirit to everything he did, Stockholm said.
"Hawai'i has lost one of its great leaders," said Walter A. Dods Jr., chairman and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank and longtime A&B board member. "He had a great love for Hawai'i, and it showed in everything he did."
Pfeiffer was known as a hands-on, people-oriented manager who got to know employees personally.
He also was known in the Hawai'i community for his corporate and personal support of charitable and other community causes. He was a leader in the effort to save the Hawaii Theatre in downtown Honolulu.
Pfeiffer came to Hawai'i with his family in 1921, the year after his birth in Suva, Fiji. He spent his early childhood in Hilo and Ka'u on the Big Island, where he learned to speak Hawaiian, play the 'ukulele and dance hula.
His family moved to Honolulu in 1929, and Pfeiffer began his maritime career at age 12, working as a deckhand on a harbor tug.
He earned an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy while leading the ROTC brigade at McKinley High School, but abandoned his plans for West Point when his father lost his job shortly before Pfeiffer graduated in 1937.
He went to work for Inter-Island Steam Navigation and then a successor company, Overseas Terminal Ltd., where he remained until 1955. He joined Matson in 1956, and in 1962 was named president of Matson Terminals, the first step in an 11-year rise to the presidency.
In October 1979, he became president of A&B while continuing to head Matson. He retired as president in 1991, as CEO in 1992 and as chairman and director in 1995. He returned to all three posts and to the chairmanship of Matson's board in mid-1998 after his successor, John Couch, took a medical leave of absence. He retired again as president and CEO after three months, and as chairman of A&B and Matson a year later.
A new Matson ship, MV R.J. Pfeiffer, was named for him in 1992.
Although he never attended college, he received honorary degrees from the Maine Maritime Academy, the University of Hawai'i and Hawai'i Loa College.
He is survived by four children and nine grandchildren. His wife, Mary Worts Pfeiffer, died last year.
