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Business Briefs
Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Sunday, December 23, 2001



[TAKING NOTICE]

NEW JOBS

>> Dale R. Terry has been named controller at the Resort at Turtle Bay. Terry joins the resort after serving as controller at the Manor Vail Condominium Association in Colorado, a Benchmark Hospitality property. Benchmark recently aquaired the Resort at Turtle Bay.

>> Helena Sena was appointed development director at Sacred Hearts Academy. She will oversee all aspects of the school's fundraising program. Sena previously served as director of development and membership at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.

>> PM Realty Group has named Arlene Reis property manager at Waikiki Galleria. She has 10 years of real estate management experience, most recently representing Waikiki Galleria's owners, AG Waikiki Galleria LLP and BRS Waikiki Galleria LLP, for a 14 month construction period during a $65 Million DFS expansion where she was responsible for all phases of management, leasing and supervision of tenant improvements.

>> Kenneth D.H. Chong has been named managing director at Avalon Realty LLC. He will also serve as principal broker at the company, responsible for all licensee activities. Chong joins Avalon Realty after being self-employed and teaching real estate courses at the University of Hawaii.

>> Jon Rasmussen has joined ad agency Loomis Inc. and will be supervising its Cutter Automotive, Tesoro Hawaii and Pacific LightNet accounts. He has more than 15 years of marketing, public relations and promotion experience, most recently as general manager and creative director of MM&M Advertising.

PROMOTIONS

>> Makiko Kuroda has been promoted to president of E Noa Corp. She joined the company in 1996 and most recently served as president of its sales and marketing arm, Asian Pacific Advisors Ltd.

>> Maile Kanemaru has been named executive director at Weed and Seed Hawaii. She will be responsible for the oversight of Weed and Seed programs in Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown and Waipahu. Kanemaru has served as overall project coordinator since the program's inception in 1998. Also, Reina Miyamoto has been named site coordinator for the Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown Weed and Seed site. Miyamoto joins Weed and Seed after serving as a youth program director at the YMCA of Honolulu.

>> Marriott International recently appointed Simon Jongert as general manager of the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club. He began his career with Marriott in 1975 as director of catering at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel, followed by several operational management positions in the United States.

>> Gary T. Fujimoto has been promoted to assistant vice president of commercial insurance in addition to holding the title of commercial underwriting manager at Island Insurance. Craig A. Uradomo has been promoted to assistant vice president of commercial insurance in addition to holding the title of commercial product development manager.

>> Steve Renstrom has been promoted to East Hawaii manager on the Big Island by Young Bros. Ltd. He was most recently barge terminal superintendent in Honolulu. Renstrom will now be responsible for the Port of Hilo and its surrounding areas. Also at the shipping company, Denise Iseri-Matsubara has been promoted to manager of customer service. She has been with the department for more than 15 years and most recently held the position of customer service supervisor.

ON THE BOARD

>> The Society for Human Resource Management Hawaii Chapter has named Derek Ito as its new chapter president. Other new officers include Arlene Odagiri, chapter vice president and president of the SHRM Educational Foundation; Lisa Wong, secretary for both the chapter and the foundation; Malcolm Inamine, chapter treasurer; and Michael Wong, foundation treasurer.

>> Eileen Tamura has been elected chairwoman of the Hawaii Council for the Humanities. She is a professor of educational foundations at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Other new officers are: attorney Larry Myers, vice-chair; and Alfred Castle, executive director of the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation, secretary-treasurer. In addition, Gov. Ben Cayetano appointed communications and media relations specialist Barbara Marshall to the HCH for a three-year term and re-appointed attorney Larry Myers to a second three-year term. Three HCH members were elected to a second term: Gail Ainsworth, librarian and Hawaiian studies specialist at Maui Community College; and Karen Motosue, vice-president of the Hawaii Heritage Center. Historian Andrew Bushnell from Kauai Community College was selected earlier in the year to serve on the HCH.

>> Jodi L. Kimura has been named president of the Hawaii State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Other new officers are: Kristie K. Cruz Chang, vice president/president-elect; Renee M. Yoshimura, treasurer; and Peter V. Lee, secretary. Directors with terms expiring in 2002 are: Richard A.J.H. Ing, Kenneth J. Mansfield, Sherry A. Nohara, Cynthia T. Tai, Roland J. Talon and Reid Yamashiro. Directors with terms expiring in 2003 are: Scott C. Arakaki, Roxann Chun Bulman, Amanda S. Chang, James S. Dixon, Belinda Hall and Traci F. Villarosa.

>> Manoa Valley Theatre has elected four new directors to three-year terms. Al Hoffman, Keith Ito, Ka'ala Shea and Cindy Wyrick have all joined the board. Hoffman is president of Communications-Pacific. Ito is chief executive officer and co-founder of RevaComm, a multimedia company. Shea is vice president of sales and marketing for Hawaiian Arrangements, a tour company. And Wyrick is senior vice president and manager of investor relations for Bank of Hawaii. Reelected board officers for 2001-02 are: Scott Higashi, president; Janis Akuna, vice president; Neil Field, secretary; and John Maughan, treasurer. Joe Keifer of Bank of Hawaii has retired from the board after seven years of service.

RECOGNITION

>> Jeffrey M.C. Lum has been named 2001 Realtor of the Year by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Nominees are given the award for faithfulness to a code of ethics, civic activity, association participation and business accomplishments. Lum has been a member of the Honolulu Board of Realtors since 1989.

>> Walter Tolentino, regional sales manager for Outrigger and Ohana Hotels & Resorts, has been named Sales Person of the Year by Rendezvous Tours. In his position, Tolentino oversees the Hawaii market, including local residents, the Hawaii retail travel agent community, Hawaii overnighter companies and airlines.

>> Larry and Jeanne Roppolo's Hale Ho'onanea Bed and Breakfast/Retreat on the Kohala Coast has been named one of the top 15 Bed and Breakfast/Country Inns in Arrington's Bed and Breakfast Journal's Book of Lists contest. Arrington's Journal is a national monthly trade publication for the bed and breakfast/ country inn industry.


McDonald's Japan founder quits as president

TOKYO >> Den Fujita, the founder of McDonald's Co. Japan, stepped down as president but stayed on as chief executive to oversee strategy at a critical time for the burger chain.

Fujita, 75, who built a fast-food empire here over the past 30 years, said he would take the title of chairman and remain chief executive as long as he was healthy.

"Chairman may sound like I won't be doing anything. As CEO, I will still be in charge of company strategy," he told reporters.

Fujita will share day-to-day-responsibilities with deputy president Yasuyuki Yagi, 50, who was chosen as the new president, subject to shareholders' approval.

In Japan, the first McDonald's restaurant opened in Tokyo in 1971. It has grown to nearly 3,800 stores nationwide.

Cantor Fitzgerald CEO to write firm's struggle

NEW YORK >> Howard Lutnick, chairman of the bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will write a book about his firm's struggle after the deaths of more than 600 employees in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Lutnick said he will contribute all of his royalties to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, established on Sept. 14 to provide financial assistance to the families of Cantor Fitzgerald victims.

"This book will stand as a testament to my friends and partners who were lost on Sept. 11, and it will help provide financial support for their families," he said in a statement Monday issued by HarperCollins, which will publish his book in the second half of 2002.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PricewaterhouseCoopers names new global chief

NEW YORK >> Pricewater-houseCoopers named Samuel DiPiazza Jr. as global chief executive officer, succeeding James Schiro, who announced his plan to resign in July.

The professional services organization said Schiro served as global CEO since the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in July 1998.

DiPiazza was previously chairman and senior partner of the company's U.S. firm and will assume his new respon-sibilities on Jan. 2. DiPiazza joined the company in 1973 and joined the partnership in 1979.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. firm will conduct an election to replace DiPiazza as chairman and senior partner. The process is expected to be completed by early spring.

Enron CEO Lay to testify before Senate panel

WASHINGTON >> Kenneth Lay, the embattled chief executive of bankrupt energy trading giant Enron Corp., has agreed to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Byron Dorgan said.

Lay "has committed to appear before our committee and present testimony at a second hearing which will be held on February 4," Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, said.

Dorgan also said the Senate Commerce Committee would invite former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and Andrew Fastow, the company's former chief financial officer, to the hearing.

The collapse of Enron is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Justice Department and Labor Department.

Taiwan export orders drop 11.2 percent

Taipei >> Taiwan's export orders fell in November at the slowest pace in seven months, a sign overseas sales at chipmakers, mobile-phone makers and other manufacturers may be nearing the end of a nine-month slide.

Export orders fell 11.2 percent from a year earlier to $11.8 billion after a 12.3 percent decline in October, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Economists expected a 14.2 percent drop. Factory production fell 6.8 percent, matching economists' forecasts.

Nanya Technology Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and other chipmakers are counting on a rebound in U.S. orders early next year to boost prices and restore profit after the global chip industry had its worst year on record in 2001

Korea think tank expects growth to rise in 2002

Seoul >> Korea Development Institute, a state-run think tank, said economic growth will accelerate next year as exports rebound.

Asia's third-largest economy will probably expand 4.1 percent in 2002 after expanding 2.7 percent this year, the institute said, raising its 2001 growth forecast from the 2.2 percent it projected in October. Last year, the economy grew 8.8 percent.

Korea's economy grew a better-than-expected 1.2 percent in the third quarter from the second, helped by government and consumer spending.

Philippine imports down 16.9% in October

Manila >> Philippine imports fell in October for a fourth straight month as falling overseas demand prompted electronics makers to buy fewer machines and parts.

Imports slid 16.9 percent from a year earlier to about $2.4 billion after dropping 19.1 percent in September, the National Statistics Office said. That left a $570 million trade surplus, the third in a row.

Philippine manufacturers have let stocks run down as orders from the U.S., Japan and Europe dry up.

Sagging economy delays Thai energy expansion

Bangkok >> Electricity Generating Plc, Thailand's second-biggest publicly traded power producer, will delay its expansion plan by two years to 2005 as demand for power slackens because of an economic slowdown.

Egcomp, as the company is known, delayed a plan to double its capacity to 5,000 megawatts because "demand for electricity required by the country has not been in line with the company's forecast," the company said in a statement to the Thai stock exchange.

In other news ...

GENEVA >> World Trade Organization countries agreed last week that Mexico would host the body's next ministerial conference in 2003 in the middle of a round of free trade talks. The rapid decision came at the first meeting of the WTO's ruling General Council since ministers from the 143 member states last month agreed to launch the new round to start next month.

Wellington >> New Zealand business confidence rose for a second month in December as retailers and construction companies bet lower interest rates will improve earnings. Pessimists still outweighed optimists in National Bank of New Zealand Ltd.'s monthly survey.





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