Age: 35

Title: General manager

Organization: Sam's Club in Pearl City; will transfer to Sam's Club at the "Ke'eaumoku superblock," set to open in late September. Sam's Club is an affiliate of Wal-Mart, which will open a store at the same site.

High school: Nogales High School, La Puente, Calif.

College: Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, Calif.

Breakthrough job: "I think joining Sam's Club in 1996 was the breakthrough job for me. Before joining Sam's I was working for PriceCostco for 11 years, and so, leaving a company after 11 years with a promising career was a big decision. Secondly, when I accepted the job with Sam's, I kind of knew their intentions were to send me to Hawai'i to take over this store here, and that was probably tougher because all my family lives in Southern California. So leaving them behind was probably one of the toughest decisions of my career. However, coming to Hawai?i has been a very positive and rewarding experience career-wise and personally."

Little-known fact: "My four brothers and myself used to have a mobile disc-jockey group and our group's name was Cruz Control. ... We started it for fun (when I was in high school), but it became a pretty promising business."

Q. How many people do you need to hire for Sam's Club Ke'eaumoku?

A. We'll probably need between 400 and 450 people if our sales projections are correct. ... We'd like to have at least 20 percent of the people (at Pearl City) transfer ... to help with the training process.

Q. Is there a lot of demand for your jobs in today's market?

A. Yes. We put a banner up on the site about two weeks ago. The number of applications that we've received is unbelievable. ... We've received about 250 applications already.

Q. How do you find the best people?

A. First of all, they have to have a positive attitude, and second of all, they have to have a genuine smile at all times. Other than that, I love to teach people and train people.

Q. There has been discussion nationwide about issues with jobs at Wal-Mart. How do Sam's Club jobs in Hawai'i compare?

A. Our practice here is very good, and we pay very well, very competitive. I don't think it's a problem with us. ... Our company looks at the cost of living and pretty much sets the starting wage based on that.

Q. What are the biggest challenges you face as a manager?

A. Being on the island, logistically it's always a challenge. ... Making sure you stay in stock daily, that's a very challenging process. But I think the biggest challenge I'm about to face with this new store would be in the hiring process.

Q. How do you motivate your employees?

A. Every morning we have a 10-minute WIN meeting. It's an acronym for "what's important now." We ... talk about some of the fun things that's going on, kind of joke around. ... I think the biggest thing we do here is CBWA, which is "coaching by walking around." So every day I try to meet with as many associates as I can, just talk to them and see ... if there's anything I can help them with. It's a corporate culture.

Q. So, what's important now?

A. Well, obviously the Ke'eaumoku site. A lot of our employees are excited about the growth, the advancement, the opportunities that it has to offer . ... This week our sales have been great, double-digit increase pretty much every day, that's pretty exciting. And you know, we have 22 days accident-free.

Q. How will the Sam's Club at Ke'eaumoku differ from the Pearl City store?

A. We will alter a few things to cater to the business people's needs, but overall I think it'll be pretty consistent. ... I think what we know at Ke'eaumoku is it's a lot of Asian people, so I think you'll see a lot more different Asian-type items.

Q. Will that help to better compete with some stores nearby, such as Daiei?

A. Definitely. We'll definitely study those businesses and see what sells in those businesses, and try to copy some of those things.

Q. How will traffic be handled?

A. We're obviously going to get (Honolulu police) involved doing the opening process and maybe a month or two after. ... We obviously want it as smooth as possible for the community and (to) make sure that traffic doesn't become a problem and the focus of that project. We've made some traffic improvements such as widening several streets. We've added traffic lights at a few intersections. The existing traffic signals will be interconnected to ensure the traffic goes smoothly.

Q. How does having another store change the competitive landscape in Hawai'i between Sam's Club and Costco?

A. I think it gives us more power. It helps us be more competitive in terms of convenience for our members. I think the Costco in Honolulu is doing very well, so I think they're not going to like it too much, us coming over there.

Q. With the entrance of Sam's Club at Ke'eaumoku, what impact do you think that it will have on businesses in the area?

A. I think it's going to have a positive impact. I think one of the misconceptions that people have is that we go in and we close businesses down. That's not our philosophy. Our No. 1 philosophy is, we're in business to serve small businesses. I think what they'll find is we're going to help them in terms of lowering the cost of doing business. ... I think also the traffic that we're going to bring to the site will also bring a lot more exposure to their businesses.

Q. What is Sam's Club's most popular item in Hawai'i?