Hawaiian Air’s A state senator is convinced that the Hawaii Tourism Authority has already decided who its next chief executive will be: Paul Casey, vice chairman and chief executive of Hawaiian Airlines.
Casey may be
new HTA boss
Sen. Kim's assertion that the
airline's leader already has been
selected for the job is deniedBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comBut the authority said it has made no decision and there is a long way to go before a replacement for Bob Fishman is found.
Sen. Donna Mercado Kim raised the issue on the Senate floor yesterday. Later, she said in an interview that "good sources" told her that Casey has already been selected and she believes proper channels are not being followed.
"I've got nothing against Paul Casey. I'm not saying he wouldn't be good," Kim said. "But I am concerned that they're not following the process. There's no way to know if it is a fair and proper" selection process.
Casey will be available if the proposed merger of Hawaiian and Aloha airlines goes through because both Casey and his counterpart at Aloha, Glenn Zander, will lose their jobs when the merger takes place.
Casey, 54, has held a top tourism spot before, as president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau for two years before taking the Hawaiian Airlines post five years ago.
Casey could not be reached for comment but left a voice mail message with his public relations department saying he had been approached by several people to see if he was interested in the position, but told them simply "I am still vice chairman and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines." Presumably, he would still be in that position if the Aloha-Hawaiian merger does not take place.
Kim said Casey told her a couple of weeks ago he was not interested in the tourism authority job, but she is now hearing otherwise.
HTA Chairman Roy Tokujo is out of town and was not available for comment.
David Carey, the authority's vice chairman and president and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Inc., said no selection has been made and it is "irresponsible and potentially damaging" for anyone to say otherwise.
"He certainly ought to be on the short list of people we should consider," but so far there is no such list and there is a considerable process to go through, involving an executive recruitment firm, Carey said.
The authority has said it is looking for a strong chief executive with high management skills as a well as marketing knowledge.
The new chief likely will get much more that the $150,000 or so annual pay that Fishman received. Carey stressed that the board has no fixed idea who that might be.
Kim said she believes the HTA will present a short list of 10 names to the recruitment firm but will choose Casey anyway.
She is pressing for passage of a bill she introduced that would make appointment to the HTA's top post require Senate confirmation, like state Cabinet positions.
The tourism industry has long argued the HTA must stay separate from the government, with its own funding coming directly from the hotel room tax; that way it can do its job of promoting and developing Hawaii tourism with minimum interference from the Legislature.
Kim and some other legislators believe that a recent report from the legislative auditor criticizing the HTA for poor management supports their view that there must be closer state oversight.
Former savings and loan executive Rick Humphreys took over the top executive position at HTA in November on a temporary $1-a-year basis, after Fishman was called up for military service.
The HTA is the main agency responsible for promoting Hawaii tourism and uses about $60 million a year from the room tax fund, most of which goes to its primary marketing contractor, the nonprofit visitors and convention bureau.