Gathering Place
Lucy Jokiel
In work and in life,
he did the right thingHawaii has lost a great leader and corporate hero with the death of Robert J. "Bobby" Pfeiffer, chairman emeritus of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its subsidiary Matson Navigation Co. Pfeiffer died Sept. 26 at age 83 at his home in Orinda, Calif.
During his nearly 13-year-tenure at the helm of A&B and 19 years at its Matson subsidiary, Pfeiffer established long-term, trusting relationships with his employees and shareholders, customers and the community. Under his leadership, A&B's annual revenue and total assets nearly tripled, and shareholder equity almost doubled.
Pfeiffer was a low-profile leader who sought, above all, to do the right thing. During tough times, he made wise decisions to embrace technology, modernization and diversification, which eventually led to enormous growth and profitability.
Pfeiffer was considered a giant in the local business community. His legacy is in sharp contrast to reports of executives heading scandal-ridden companies like Enron and WorldCom. Those corporate meltdowns have generated profound mistrust in U.S. corporations.
A descendent of an eight-generation line of sea captains, Pfeiffer helped create a company in which employees loved to go to work. I was fortunate to have worked for Pfeiffer in the early 1990s as A&B's publications manager.
Learning of his emphasis on punctuality, I arrived in the office by 7 a.m. during my first week on the job, only to find that Pfeiffer had already been in his office for more than two hours. And that was usually after his four-mile run.
He once told me that after retirement, he would like to go to medical school and become an orthopedic specialist. "I could help a lot of people," he said. Pfeiffer regularly phoned his managers on their birthdays -- in my case, even after I no longer worked for A&B.
Pfeiffer's love of Hawaii and its people came from his childhood in Hilo and Kau on the Big Island, where he learned to speak Hawaiian. At the launching ceremony for the 713-foot MV R.J. Pfeiffer in 1992, Pfeiffer played the ukulele and danced the hula. His close friend, composer Irmgard Aluli, sang his favorite Hawaiian songs.
But he wasn't a pushover.
In 1985, investor Harry Weinberg fought aggressively to take over A&B and replace Pfeiffer and the board with his own directors. After a hard-fought proxy battle, stockholders voted in favor of Pfeiffer.
He also demanded accountability. Ship captains who were late arriving at the pier in Honolulu dreaded the inevitable call from their boss demanding an explanation. A&B employees had to be in the meeting room a full 10 minutes before the scheduled time or else be barred from entry.
Pfeiffer will probably be most remembered for his corporate and personal generosity. In 1985, he announced A&B's adoption of a policy to give charitable contributions equal to 2 percent of A&B's pre-tax income. The A&B Foundation has contributed nearly $17 million to nonprofit organizations in Hawaii, and company employees have given thousands of hours of community service.
Pfeiffer's legacy serves as a warning to high-profile, ego-driven executives who have yet to learn that the abuse of corporate power can lead to corporate meltdowns. His legacy is also an inspiration. He was an every day leader solving every day problems with little fanfare. The legacy of Robert J. "Bobby" Pfeiffer offers a simple strategy for business as well as personal success: Do the right thing.
Lucy Jokiel is community development director at Summit Lending of Hawaii. She is the former editor of Island Business Magazine.
