Vericella also will be a partner in SHG, the company that acquired Island Partners last year.

Vericella will be responsible for attracting more corporate meeting and corporate incentive groups from Asia, Europe and Oceania, primarily Australia and New Zealand, to come to all of the islands, he said this morning.

Until now, Vericella said, Island Partners Hawai'i has primarily focused on attracting the North American firms to Hawai'i, particularly from insurance and financial companies. Island Partners Hawai'i has 24 employees in offices in Lahaina and Honolulu, where Vericella will be based.

As a partner in SHG, Vericella also will help acquire wholly owned subsidiaries in other countries to open up new destination travel markets, he said.

"There are few companies that have attempted to do that on a regional or international scale," Vericella said.

H.S. Wright III, chairman of SHG, said, "With Vericella, we have someone with proven ability to guide our strategic growth nationally and internationally, and, at the same time, extend the brand and services of Island Partners Hawai'i."

Vericella resigned as head of the HVCB in 2003 following a state audit that accused the bureau of inappropriate expenditures and mismanagement. HVCB, Hawai'i's major tourism marketing agency, lost major parts of its promotion contract following the audit, which was followed by a review by the state attorney general and studies conducted by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority that concluded the HVCB suffered from inherent conflicts of interest and needed serious management reforms.

Vericella more recently has been working on projects in China that include tourism management training, destination marketing, film production and entertainment shows, as well as serving as an adviser and marketing consultant to Hawai'i and Asia-based companies in hotel-restaurant management, broadcast media and travel retailing.

Island Partners Hawai'i has been around for 10 years, Vericella said. About 18 months ago, investor J.J. Elkin bought Maui-based competitors Island Incentives and Tropical Temptations and merged them with Island Partners Hawai'i, but sold them last year to SHG.

Privately held SHG specializes in hospitality, tourism, entertainment and retail and employs about 25 people.

Wright, the company's chairman, is an investor in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers, Pacific Plaza Hotel in Seattle, Monterey Marriott in California and the Space Needle Corporation.

Wright's family-based construction business built, owns and manages the Space Needle, Vericella said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8085.