HPU's VP 'was one of Hawaii's top executives'
Lloyd Fujie / 1947-2006
Lloyd Fujie, senior vice president of Hawaii Pacific University and former managing partner in Hawaii for Deloitte & Touche LLC, died Thursday.
His family said Fujie died on his 59th birthday, one day after experiencing complications while undergoing an operation for pancreatic cancer. He had been diagnosed just two weeks earlier.
Fujie worked at Deloitte & Touche for 32 years, including 10 years as managing partner in Hawaii. Last January, he joined Hawaii Pacific University as chief financial officer and vice president and was later promoted to CFO and senior vice president for operations.
When Fujie retired from Deloitte, HPU President Chatt Wright said it was an easy decision to hire him to strengthen the HPU management team.
"He's widely known for being one of Hawaii's top executives," Wright said. "Lloyd had great leadership abilities, his personality was so positive, so pleasing, he just charmed everyone around him."
His friends said Fujie's personality, sense of humor and charisma are what made him a successful businessman and an instant friend to whomever he met.
"He made you feel you were the No. 1 client, that you were at the top of the list," said Paul DeVille, whose 33-year friendship with Fujie started when he was Fujie's client at Deloitte.
His knack for nurturing and helping others made him a mentor to people inside and outside Deloitte, said Tertia Freas, a partner at the firm who worked with Fujie for most of the 26 years she knew him.
"He taught so many of us, not only those who stayed at Deloitte, but others who left and became CEOs of other businesses," Freas said.
Fujie was able to ask people the right questions to help them develop a better presentation, said Alton Kuioka, a longtime friend and vice chairman of Bank of Hawaii Corp.
"And he does it with such tact and finesse. He always had the right words to say," he said.
Fujie is survived by his wife, Carol, sons Gregg and Todd and brothers Glenn and Byron.
The service will he held at Harris United Methodist Church Jan. 11, with visitation at 4 p.m. and service at 5:30 p.m.
The Fujie family asks that instead of gifts and flowers, people make donations to Friends of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala St., Honolulu, HI 96813, attention Sharon Shigemasa, RN.