Name: Ronald J. Hellstrom
Age: 55
Position: President, chief executive officer, Better Brands Ltd.
First job: Newspaper delivery
Favorite pastimes: Golf, tennis

Bringing management back home

Ronald Hellstrom brings management of Better Brands Ltd. back to Hawaii, 29 years after the company was acquired by Young's Market Co., a large wine and spirits distributor based in Orange, Calif.

"We're closer to the issues and what's going on," Hellstrom said. "And it makes for better team building with all the employees part of the decision-making."

He was executive vice president and chief operating officer at Foodland Super Markets Ltd. for 13 years, and with the Albertson's Inc. supermarkets for 25 years.

Hellstrom's community work has included the Resource Recovery Task Force, Rainbow Fever-University of Hawaii, Air Force Civilian Advisory Council, Governor's Advisory Committee on Litter Control, Easter Seals Society of Hawaii, Aloha United Way, and Hawaii Food Bank. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bellevue College in Seattle.

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By Jerry Tune, Star-Bulletin