GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Sharon Shiroma Brown is First Hawaiian Bank senior vice president for sales, service and training, as well as president of the First Hawaiian Foundation.

Brown looking forward
to managing bank’s largess

Sharon Shiroma Brown >> New job: President of First Hawaiian Foundation, charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank. >> History: Started at the company in 1981 and has headed its sales, service and training division as senior vice president since 1990. She retains that position. >> Predecessor: Lily K. Yao retired June 30 as foundation president and bank vice chairman.

What brought you to First Hawaiian?

I was back in New England working at a bank and I had my son. When he was a year old, I said it's time for me to move back to Hawaii. I wanted him to grow up here. I applied at all the banks, Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian and HonFed. They all offered me jobs. I guess they figured I was this local girl who went off and got worldly, got brilliant. I took the job with First Hawaiian and I have been so glad. They other two banks offered me jobs in consumer credit, which is where I had the most experience. The First Hawaiian job was in marketing. I felt it was time in my career to make a change, so I took that one. I was in charge of sales and service as part of marketing. Then, in the 1990s, sales, service and training were spun off into a separate division. The company really wanted to focus on developing a sales and service culture. I've been doing that for the last 10 years.

How will heading up the foundation be different from working at the bank?

I really think for me it will probably be the most satisfying thing I will ever do in my career. I've always been involved. I've been a director for Hale Kipa. I've been on the Aloha United Way allocation board. While doing that, I met, visited and learned a lot about the different nonprofits in Hawaii. I've always done volunteer work. I'm really looking forward to it.

What are your goals as foundation president?

To fulfill its mission to support the programs that improve the local communities where the bank does business. Part of it is meeting human services needs. We improve health care, we provide educational opportunities, we enrich culture and the arts. It's very diverse. The foundation has $14 million in assets. We donated $2.2 million last year to about 300 charities. Walter (Dods, chairman of First Hawaiian Bank parent Banc West Corp.) has always said our company is successful and we have to make the communities in which we live successful as well.

Do you plan any shift in focus?

Not really, we will probably continue to focus on the human services needs and educational opportunities.

You said the foundation gave $2.2 million last year, do you expect this year will be similar?

I don't think it will be any less than that.

How are Hawaii's nonprofits faring?

Every single one of them is probably challenged. Funding is getting so much scarcer. I get requests every day and the requests are much higher than last year. Government and other grants are less available. Companies that used to give may not be able to be as generous as they were in the past.

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