Leadership Corner: Gregory C. Chun
Interviewed by Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Name: Gregory C. Chun
Age: 49
Title: President and general manager
Organization: Bishop Holdings Corp., which is responsible for the implementation of Kamehameha Schools' strategic plan for Keauhou Resorts
High school: Kamehameha Schools
College: Bachelor of arts in psychology, University of Hawai'i-Hilo; master of arts and Ph.D. in clinical psychology, University of Hawai'i-Manoa
Breakthrough job: Starting his own consulting practice in 1999. "Going out on your own after working for a large organization can be very scary and creates a lot of anxiety. It really forced me to be resilient and resourceful in creating a situation where I was able to do work that I wanted (to do) as well as support my family. It's interesting when you step off into a new situation or in a completely new direction what it forces you to do and how it forces you to grow as a person."
Little-known fact: At one time, surfing was a huge part of Chun's life. "It consumed me," he said. Now he's lucky to surf twice a year. His creative outlet now is cooking.
Major challenge: "I'm stepping into a different kind of situation than I've typically worked in. Given my background and the kind of work I've done, normally I have been asked to come in when something is not going right and I have to fix it. And that requires a certain set of skills. What I'm being asked to do here is really re-create Keauhou. It's a situation in which you truly have an opportunity to be a visionary. And while a lot of direction has already been established through the master plan, this opportunity has allowed me to lead and create in a situation that I've never been been in before."
Q. You joined Bishop Holdings Corp. as general manager in September 2004. What are your primary responsibilities?
A. My primary responsibility is to oversee the build-out of Keauhou Resort through the implementation of the strategic plan. In addition to that ... a number of the for-profit subsidiaries that Kamehameha (Schools) owns are under my kuleana as well, so we are in the process of either divesting ourselves of some of those assets or closing down some of those entities. Part of the strategic plan calls for refocusing our real-estate activity back to Hawai'i. (The benefit) would be to stay within what we feel to be our core competency, which is the stewardship of our Hawai'i lands, as opposed to stretching ourselves too far and wide.
Q. What has been the biggest challenge in developing Keauhou Resort and the area surrounding it?
A. The challenge is how to integrate what has already been developed there and make it a part of what we envision this place to be. We're not starting from scratch.
Q. What is the vision for Keauhou?
A. It started back in the '60s and it's kind of evolved into a second-home, residential resort-type of community. Many of the people who purchased or have property there are not full-time residents. They have property as an investment and they come and enjoy Keauhou at different parts of the year. Keauhou itself doesn't have the kind of natural resources that most resort settings have: white sand beaches, world-class golf (courses). So the challenge is how can we rejuvenate Keauhou based on the resources that are there?
Q. What are the resources available at Keauhou?
A. The resources that are there are rich, rich, rich in culture and history, all anchored in the Hawaiian culture. So the vision is to revitalize the culture and education, making them the draws or attractions and center around which the community congregates ... It's creating a learning community where there's opportunity to participate in cultural and other kinds of educational activities that become the center of the community.
Q. Is creating an educational and cultural center in Keauhou a way to lure more residents and visitors to the area?
A. The plan itself centers (on) two piko, or two villages, one at the head of Keauhou Bay and the other at Kahalu'u Bay, which is the adjoining ahupua'a (or land division). The idea is that we would develop what we're calling a community learning center at one site and a cultural center at the other site. These centers will be active learning entities; they're not intended to be museums. These are places where cultural practices are actually preserved as well as shared with visitors and residents alike ... These active living centers we create will be places where Hawaiians (in the surrounding communities) can perpetuate and even advance cultural practices and cultural knowledge.
Q. How does the newly renovated Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa, formerly the Kona Surf Resort & Country Club, fit into the overall vision for Keauhou Resort?
A. We don't anticipate building more hotels as part of the vision, but the revitalization of the two existing hotel properties — Keauhou Beach Hotel and the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa — those are envisioned as being vital activity centers as well for the community.
Q. You earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. How does that field relate to business?
A. Ninety percent of the challenges that most organizations and more managers have has to deal with managing people. And a clinical background provides you very good grounding and foundation for helping people understand how to work with and lead other people, and how to build teams. Clinical training prepares you to be able to walk into a situation and hone your assessment skills to be able to evaluate what is going on.
Q. What are qualities you believe every leader should possess?
A. You can't do it alone, so you got to know how to build a team and keep people energized and fresh and committed to whatever your business is. Not everyone is the same. Some people are motivated by some things, others by other things, so you got to have a good sense of where individuals are at. But at the same time, it's really important to know how to bring people together and get them to join their efforts because so much more is possible. One plus one equals three when it works right.
