Taking Notice
NEW JOBS
>> Microsoft Corp. has hired Mark Dowd as Department of Defense account executive for Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. He has 17 years of technology experience, including work with the Defense Department. Also working for Microsoft out of Honolulu will be Technical Specialist Frank Vretos.>> Susanne Hatje has been named resort manager at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Hawaii. She will be responsible for overall operations at the property. Hatje comes to Honolulu after serving as general manager at the Mandarin Oriental, Munich.
>> The Hawaii Nurses' Association has appointed Susan E. Scheider director of the association's Collective Bargaining Organization. She previously worked at the District of Columbia Nurses Association. Scheider is a labor lawyer with experience working with nurses and labor organizations in the health care industry.
>> Tyler M. Tokioka has been named assistant vice president and director of office services at Island Insurance Cos. He most recently served as assistant to the general manager at Atlas Insurance Agency.
>> Donovan M. Dela Cruz has been named director of marketing at Watermark Publishing. He will manage sales, marketing, public relations and advertising for the company's list of titles. Dela has seven years of experience in the public relations industry.
>> Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii has named Mary Silva house construction safety officer. She will be responsible for the development and implementation of safety programs for Castle & Cooke's house construction department. The 15-year safety veteran most recently worked as a safety specialist with Verizon Hawaii.
>> Kathy Lum and Colleen Blacktin have been named branch managers at Charles Schwab and Company Inc. Lum will serve as manager of the Kahala Branch. Blacktin will work at the downtown Honolulu branch.
>> The Waikoloa Beach Resort has named David Pritchett director of golf. Pritchett previously served as head professional at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Golf Course.
>> Michelle Busbee has been named as a corporate group account supervisor at Communications-Pacific Inc. She most recently served as a senior account executive at Stryker Weiner & Yokota Public Relations.
PROMOTIONS
>> Bank of Hawaii has promoted the following employees to senior vice president at the company: Teresa M. Cronkhite, senior vice president and Bankoh client services division manager; George Fillion, senior vice president and fiduciary risk officer; Patrick E. Green, senior vice president and special assets manager; Jean H. Hamakawa, senior vice president and human resources manager; and Charlaine T. Higashi, senior vice president and service and operations manager.>> Diane M. Shigeta has been named director of planning and financial analysis at A&B Properties Inc. She will be responsible for the financial evaluation of acquisition, development, property management and sales activities at the property development and management subsidiary of Alexander and Baldwin Inc. Shigeta has been with the company since 1994. She previously served as a manager in the financial planning and analysis department.
>> JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa has promoted Stephen Hinck from director of event management to director of food and beverage. He will oversee all of the resort's food and beverage outlets, as well as banquets and special events.
>> Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii recently promoted Doreen Rozemond to sales administrator supervisor. Cassy Ikeda was promoted to senior sales administrator; and Kristin Castillo-Saem to sales administrator. Rozemond will oversee the staff of four sales administrators. She joined Castle & Cooke in 1990 as a part-time employee. Ikeda will provide administrative services to the vice president of sales and marketing, the director of marketing and the sales administrator supervisor. She began with the company in 1965 as a secretary with Oceanic Properties, which eventually became Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii. Castillo-Saem is responsible for providing administrative assistance to the company's sales manager and director of marketing in coordinating all new project sales, closings and recordings.
>> Leland K. Kahawai has been promoted to vice president and Lihue/Northeast Kauai area manager at First Hawaiian Bank. The following First Hawaiian employees also were promoted to vice president: Jerelyn A. Brown, institutional funds management department; Rene M. Chinen, legal department; Beatrice A. Nakauye, publications department; and Derek M.S. Wong, retail credit products department. And Stephen E.K. Kaaa and Akihiko Kanamori have been promoted to vice president and named private banking officers at the bank.
ON THE BOARD
>> Linda Gee has been elected president of the Hawaii Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management. Other newly elected officers and vice-presidents include: Jeffrey Mau, president-elect; Toni Cofran, treasurer; Ralph Foulger, secretary; Naomi Iha, vice president of education; Daisy Yamada, co-vice president of membership; Richard Char, co-vice president of membership; Elizabeth Palmer, vice president and military/government liaison; Barbara Campbell, vice president of programs; Paula Orr , vice president of accredited residential managers; William Ramsey, vice president of legislation; and Michelle Wong, vice president of public relations. Also, Duane Komine was named accredited residential managers representative.>> Paula Fukuda has been named president of the Associated Chinese University Women. Other newly elected officers include: Betty Jong, president-elect; Lynette Yuen, vice president; June Kadomoto, recording secretary; Cheryl Parker, corresponding secretary; Mary Chun, treasurer; Canossa Choy, auditor; Marjorie Lau, member-at-large; and Verna Lum, immediate past president.
RECOGNITION
>> Jeffrey M.C. Lum has been named 2001 Realtor of the Year by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Lum has been on the board since 1989. He was selected for the award based on his faithfulness to the HBR Realtor code of ethics, civic activity, association participation and business accomplishments.>> Gregg Kokame, a physician with the Retina Center at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, won a Rhett Buckler award at the Annual Vitreous Society Meeting's 3rd Annual Film Festival. The prize recognizes films of surgical techniques and maneuvers. The film showcases a technique created by Kokame. It treats complications after cataract surgery.
>> Hawaii MAACO franchisee Andy Riley has won the MAACO Regional Cup Award. His franchise was one of six shops nationwide to be recognized with the award. He also won the MAACO Car Club Award, the Rookie of the Year Award, and was recognized for more than $1 million in sales.
BACK TO TOP
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Kraft Foods' Rudnitsky to lead Cendant division
NEW YORK >> Cendant Corp. named Steven Rudnitsky, a former Kraft Foods Inc. executive, as chairman and chief executive of its hotel group, which franchises hotels including Howard Johnson and Days Inn.Bloomberg News reported Rudnitsky will start March 25 and report to Stephen Holmes, president and chief executive of the company's Hospitality Division.
The 43-year-old Rudnitsky was president of Kraft Food Services and executive vice president of Kraft Foods, a unit of Philip Morris Cos. He also previously worked at PepsiCo. Inc. and the Pillsbury Co., Cendant said.
Lifetime car and driver for Philip Morris CEO?
WASHINGTON >> Geoffrey Bible, Philip Morris Cos. Inc.'s outgoing chairman and chief executive, was paid $5.1 million in 2001 and may also have access to the company jet and a chauffeur after he resigns later this year, according to a U.S. regulatory filing.In an annual proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said a proposed agreement would provide Bible, 64, lifetime use of an office with secretarial services, a company car and driver, home security and conditional access to the company jet.
Bible, who steps down in April, will be replaced by Chief Financial Officer Louis Camilleri. The basket of gifts could be part of his mandatory termination package as long as he agrees to provide consulting services to the New York-based consumer products manufacturing giant after his departure. In addition, Bible was awarded more than 1.8 million stock options the company valued at more than $19.5 million.
What's the tip for a $60,000 bar tab?
LONDON >> One summer evening, six investment bankers celebrated a business deal with dinner at a London restaurant. Several hours and three bottles of Chateau Petrus later, they had run up a bill of more than $60,000 -- according to Guinness World Records, the most expensive meal per capita ever.It's unlikely they're still celebrating. Five of the diners have reportedly lost their jobs, and the sixth is keeping a low profile.
The Petrus restaurant -- a self-styled destination for "movers and shakers" in London's St. James's district -- released details of the bill to the media after the meal last July. The party spent $62,679 -- most of it on wine, including a bottle of 1945 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux priced at $16,500; a $13,400 bottle of the 1946 vintage; and a bottle of the 1947 Petrus at $17,500. The dessert wine cost $13,100.
The restaurant did not even charge the party for the several hundred dollars worth of food it consumed. The bill was just for drinks, cigarettes and tax. The diners paid the bill with their own money. Press reports said some later tried to claim a portion of the meal as client expenses.
Best Buy founder Schulze to step aside
NEW YORK >> Best Buy Co. Inc. said that Richard Schulze, who opened an audio equipment store 35 years ago and transformed it into the No. 1 U.S. consumer electronics retailer, will step down as chief executive.Vice Chairman Bradbury Anderson will take over as CEO after Schulze leaves the job June 30. Schulze, 61, will remain chairman and be involved in strategic business development and groom new talent within the company.
The 61-year-old Schulze, who opened his first store in 1966 selling to college-age males, said Anderson's takeover was part of a plan envisioned about five years ago.
GM's foray Into Japan stalls as Cruze sales shrivel
Tokyo >> General Motors Corp.'s first new vehicle built in Japan in seven decades, heralded with an advertising campaign depicting the Chevrolet Cruze against a stars- and-stripes backdrop, is proving to be a flop."We planned to sell five or six a month but so far have only sold two or three a month," said Fumio Sano, store manager at a Tokyo dealership. "There was initially a lot of pressure from the head office to push the car. Now they don't seem so concerned as to which model we sell."
The first fruit of the General Motors-Suzuki alliance is missing sales targets because a recession is prompting consumers to favor models that are a fifth cheaper. While GM has built its first auto in Japan since 1927, analysts say it needs to have more hands-on management of its Asian partners to make sure its cars sell.
Sony makes Aiwa into wholly owned subsidiary
TOKYO >> Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. plans to buy the 39 percent of its money-losing affiliate Aiwa Co. it doesn't already own and turn it into a wholly owned subsidiary by October, the companies said last week.At a time when Japanese electronics makers have been hard hit by the global slump, keeping Aiwa as an independent audiovisual equipment-maker is no longer possible, Sony President Kunitake Ando said. "In the past we have grown through competing with each other. This no longer works," he told reporters.
Aiwa, which lost more than 30 billion yen $224 million in the last fiscal year, has been a big laggard for Sony.
Canada reports 0.5% economic growth
TORONTO >> Canada's economy grew 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001 after contracting in the previous quarter, avoiding slipping into a recession in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.For the year, Canada recorded economic growth of 1.5 percent including the 0.5 percent expansion of the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter, Statistics Canada reported last week.
Two straight quarters of economic shrinkage is the definition of recession, and Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin had warned that was possible in Canada due to the North American economic slump.
In other news ...
FRANKFURT, Germany >> Italy's lira, the German mark and seven other national currencies spent their last hours as real money last week before becoming souvenirs of the era before the euro. It was the successful end of a two-month transition period in which the old money circulated side by side with euro cash.Tokyo >> Nikon Corp., a Japanese electronics maker offering buyouts to get workers to quit, said it will start Chinese production of digital cameras in April to cut costs and increase sales in the world's most populous nation. Tokyo-based Nikon, which uses contract makers for compact digital cameras, will shift part of that work to a Chinese venture it set up in 1996 with local partners.