The Hawaii Tourism Authority today announced that it has selected SearchWide LLC to help find a new president and CEO for the state's top tourism agency.

SearchWide responded to a request for proposals and was among 10 proposals submitted in response to the solicitation, according to an HTA statement.

The process will include reviewing resumes, screening prospective candidates, conducting interviews, performing reference and background checks, and presenting potential candidates to the HTA's Search Investigative Committee for initial consideration and recommendation to the HTA board of directors for approval.

Douglas Kahikina Chang, chair of the Search Investigative Committee and member of the HTA board, said the company will move "expeditiously" but he had no estimate of the earliest a recommendation could come before the board.

Rex Johnson, the previous president and chief executive officer, resigned under pressure after admitting to forwarding inappropriate e-mails to friends via his state computer.

"Their proactive recruitment for the right candidate will include a search in Hawai'i as well as nationally and globally," Chang said.

Those interested in applying for the position should contact Jim Carra from SearchWide at info@searchwide.com.