Dick Pacific chief Denny Watts, president of Hawaii's largest contracting business, Dick Pacific, is moving up to become president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh-based parent company, Dick Corp., the company said yesterday.
promoted to head
national company
Denny Watts will be CEO
and chairman of Dick Corp.Star-Bulletin staff
Watts was president of Fletcher Pacific when Dick Corp. bought it in late 1999 and stayed on to head the local operations for Dick, a national contracting and construction business with more than $1.2 billion in annual revenues.
Now he will move to Pittsburgh to work closely with Dick Corp.'s owner brothers, Douglas and David Dick, each of whom becomes a co-chairman.
The company will be restructured to create three divisions reporting to Watts: Dick Pacific Hawaii, Dick Pacific Alaska and North Pacific, and Dick West.
Gerry Majkut, who came to Hawaii from Dick Corp. three years ago to head Dick Pacific's heavy power and industrial group, was named general manager of Dick Pacific Hawaii.
Jim Ramirez, a 30-year veteran of the company in Hawaii, was named general manager of the Alaska and North Pacific division and will run it from Honolulu, reporting to Majkut.
Dick West, headquartered in Las Vegas, will be headed by interim manager Pat Sheely.
Dick Pacific was founded in Honolulu in 1939 as Pacific Construction Co. and became Fletcher Pacific Construction when New Zealand-based Fletcher Challenge bought it in 1986.
It remains a strong presence in Hawaii and is working on such big contracts as $60 million to build the Wal-Mart & Sam's Club superstore on Kapiolani Boulevard, $25 million for the Honolulu Advertiser's production and printing plant at Kapolei, $80 million to design and build the Command Center of the Pacific at Camp Smith, and $70 million for the Marriott Vacations timeshare resort at Ko Olina.