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The Buzz

By Erika Engle

Thursday, April 5, 2001

Lucky for us we
work in Hawaii

THE Wall Street Journal Online on Tuesday wrote about the search under way for a new chief financial officer at Pomare Ltd.'s Hilo Hattie.

Reporter Kris Maher asked the perfunctory questions about the nature of the company, ("closely held"), what it sells, ("everything from dashboard hula dolls to muumuus and its famous 'aloha' shirts"), and the position's responsibilities and compensation, (overseeing "a staff of about 30," and "six-figure salary").

Would to have been a fly on Wall Street itself to see readers' reactions to the last question, "Will the CFO get to wear a favorite Hawaiian shirt to work?" Pomare Ltd. Vice President of Human Resources Lena Young answered in no uncertain terms that daily wear of the company's wares is encouraged, while daily suit-donning is discouraged.

Speaking of what to wear

Aloha Fridays look a bit blue at Central Pacific Bank branches, due to the aqua-colored T-shirts bearing the bank's new slogan, which employees are encouraged to wear through the end of this month. Imprinted in school-bus yellow the shirts read, "Count on exceptional."

Buttons bearing the slogan are also to be worn.

Among those seen in the bank's "colors," is Chairman and CEO Joichi Saito.

He "wears the T-shirt and the button," said spokeswoman Ann Takiguchi. "I can't say he's worn it every Friday, but he has worn it."

The "uniforms" were handed out at a companywide rally at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii on March 18, for which the bank flew in neighbor island employees, Takiguchi said.

Attendees were treated to a skit starring several senior staffers and other employees.

"The neat part," she said, "was to have all the managers -- and the senior VPs now getting into it -- all of them were part of the skit, and getting them involved, and seeing them up there, they led the rally."

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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4757, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com