[Hawaii Inc.]

New jobs

>> Hoku Scientific has hired A.M. Kannan as chief scientist. He is responsible for research and development along with Karl Taft. Kannan has more than 10 years of fuel cell experience and extensive expertise in fuel cell technologies. He most recently worked at the University of Texas at Austin. The firm also has hired Victor Stancowski as research scientist. He has been working with fuel cells for 15 years and has focused on the development of fuel cell electrodes, membranes, catalysts and reformers. Michael T. Burke has been named project manager at Hoku. He was most recently an automotive advertising sales associate for the Los Angeles Times. And Andrea Yuen has been hired as vice president of business development. She comes on board in February. Yuen is the former president and co-founder of NuVant Systems, a fuel cell component developer and manufacturer in Chicago.

>> Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii recently appointed Dawn Kane general manager of Mahana at Kaannapali and David Hadrick general manager of Aston Islander on the Beach. Kane, a 23-year veteran of the hotel industry, joins Aston from Whalers Realty Management Company Inc./ Vacation-Maui.com. Hadrick has 25 years experience in the hotel and resort management industry most recently as general manager at Grand Key Resort in Key West, Fla. Aston Hawaii is owned by ResortQuest International Co. and operates 33 condominium resorts and hotels in the state.

>> Ferro Union Hawaii has hired Tim Romero as an estimator and sales representative in its metal roofing department. He has 17 years experience in the metal roofing industry. Ferro Union manufactures a full line of metal roofing systems at Campbell Industrial Park.

Promotions

>> Guest Informant has promoted Anne Murata, group publisher Hawaiian Islands, to the newly created position of national marketing manager. She will supervise the national research, branding and marketing activities for the Mainland company from the Honolulu office, while continuing her duties as Hawaii group publisher. Murata was president of Murata Creative before joining Guest Informant in June 2001. Also at the company, Guest Informant Oahu Sales Manager Patti Ruesch was promoted to Hawaii sales manager. And Gwendolyn Trowbridge was hired as an account executive. She was most recently an account executive with Conde Nast Publications on Glamour magazine in Los Angeles. Guest Informant has been publishing in Hawaii for almost 20 years. Its local publications are distributed in 33,000 hotel rooms on four islands.

>> Starr Seigle Communications has promoted John Sutton from chief financial officer to executive vice president and chief information officer, a newly created position. He has been with the company since 1978. Clancy Lyman has been hired to replace Sutton as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was most recently vice president of finance, treasurer and assistant corporate secretary of Hawaiian Airlines.

>> Bank of Hawaii has promoted Sheila Haunani Gomes to senior vice president. She manages the transaction processing and service center and oversees the service delivery, financial performance and bank settlement activities for bank-wide payment services. She was previously an assistant vice president and manager of the items processing center's systems support group.

>> Hawaii Public Radio has promoted Valerie Yee to vice president and assistant general manager. She had been director of development and marketing and will continue to oversee the development and marketing staff as she assumes her new duties. Kayla Rosenfeld has been named news director. She joined HPR in 1998 as a part-time reporter and became full time in August 1999. For the past year she has served as newsroom director. Ute Regan has been named director of corporate support. She has been serving as corporate support manager since joining the station in January 2001.

>> Lianne Soga was promoted to director of development in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Hawaii Pacific University. Most recently, she was associate director of development. Soga joined HPU in 1996 to support the university's fund raising efforts. She manages the HPU annual fund program and coordinates the submission of grant proposals for general university funding. Additionally, Soga serves as managing editor for the alumni magazine Hawaii Pacific University Today.

>> James Yamamoto has been promoted to general manager of the new Pizza Hut in Waipio. And Jeffrey K. Machado was named general manager of the new Waipio Taco Bell restaurant. Both restaurants are run by TheoDavies Food Service Group, operators of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Hawaii. Yamamoto, a 17-year veteran of the pizza business, joined the company in 2001. He will be responsible for daily operations of the Pizza Hut delivery and carryout services. Machado has more than 24 years experience in the fast food retail business, most recently supervising the Taco Bell location at the Navy Exchange. TheoDavies employs more than 2,000 people and operates 85 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.

On the board

>> Shirley J. Daniel has been elected to the boards of directors of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. and Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. Daniel is a tenured professor of accountancy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Business Administration and the Henry A. Walker Jr. Distinguished Professor of Business Enterprise. She also serves as managing director of the Pacific Asia Center for Entrepreneurship and E-Business and director of the Pacific Asian Management Institute.

>> Anne I. W. Keamo of Properties Unlimited Inc. is the Honolulu Board of Realtors' new board chairwoman for 2003. Other directors are: Chairman-elect Mary Begier of Mary Begier Realty; Vice Chairman Liz Moore of Realty Group; Treasurer Abraham W. H. Lee of Abe Lee Realty; and Immediate Past Chairman Guy K. Tamashiro of West Oahu Realty Inc. Directors at Large for 2003 are: W. Bruce Barrett of Castle and Cooke Homes Hawaii; Patricia Case of Case Properties Inc.; Vernon K. T. Chock of Vernco Properties Inc.; Phoebe Chrisman, Realtor; Bob R. DeYoung of Realty Group; Terry Ewart of Star Realty; Mary K. Flood of Schuler Realty Oahu Inc.; Judith E. Kalbrener of RE/MAX Honolulu; Allison A. Lum of Plum Associates; Nancy Metcalf of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties; and S.R. Underwood of CD Management Ltd. Regional Directors for 2003 are: Jim Mazzola, Windward Oahu, of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties; Joyce R. Nakamura, Leeward Oahu, of Premier Realty 2000 Inc.; Trudy I. Nishihara, Central Oahu, of Realty Group; Juliana Simone, North Shore, of Sunset Homes; and Ron Staton, East Oahu, of RE/MAX Honolulu.