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Making his Case
Hawaii prodigy Steve Case says
isle firms benefit from investing
locally and raising the quality
of life
FOR Hawaii to lure back young professionals leaving for opportunities elsewhere, it must provide well-paying jobs while allowing quality family life, America Online co-founder Steve Case told local business leaders yesterday.
Steve Case» Age: 46» Claim to fame: Co-founder of America Online » Worth: $825 million » High school: Punahou, class of '76
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"Hawaii gave me a great start in life. Now it's my turn to give back -- not just for nostalgia or sentiment's sake, but because Hawaii represents a great opportunity to invest in businesses that I'm convinced can do well by doing good," Case said.
Case, a 1976 Punahou graduate, is one of four children of prominent local attorney Daniel Case and his wife, Carol. He got his entrepreneurial start as a youth selling lemonade, where he said he "learned that business was a rewarding and honorable profession."
Case's dreams took him to the mainland where after marketing positions that included a stint at PepsiCo Inc., he joined the company that was to become America Online. After the merger of America Online and Time Warner in 2001, Case served as chairman of the board, and is now a member of Time Warner's board.
Case, who lives in Washington, D.C., has made recent investments on Maui and Kauai. He is a major investor in Kauai's Grove Farm, where his grandfather was once chief executive officer, and in Maui Land & Pineapple. Case is also the chairman of the Case Foundation, a leading supporter for Hawaii Habitat for Humanity, and an investor in the Hawaii Superferry.
Case said he's looking for other investment opportunities that will improve the lives of Hawaii residents, and encouraged business leaders to do the same.
If businesses help improve Hawaii's quality of life, they will become more successful at attracting talent and resources in an increasingly competitive environment, he said.
"It's a virtuous cycle, where the better we do, the better we stand to do," Case said.
But businesses must also provide well-paying jobs that allow for rewarding family lives, he said.
"Right now, with Hawaii's Manhattan prices and Midwestern paychecks, that's rarely a viable option," he said. "I truly believe Hawaii can be a beacon of opportunity -- a place where kids don't have to leave home in order to follow their dreams."
Business decisions that promote Hawaii's niche tourism markets, help grow local agriculture and improve shipping and transportation while still remaining true to the state's diverse culture and protect the environment are rooted in success, Case said.
"I know everybody has different interests. I know that lots of good work is underway," he said. "But what I'm saying is that I believe we all can do even more -- and that if we do, we can spark momentum that will be self-reinforcing."
Great communities need contributions and business offer the best hope for positive far-reaching, durable change, Case said, challenging Hawaii's top businesses to take risks and invest locally.
"If we won't bet on Hawaii's future, then nobody else will either," he said.
Walter Dods, chairman and chief executive of First Hawaiian Bank and parent BancWest Corp., said Hawaii's business community will likely respond to Case's challenge.
"We haven't heard a speech like that in a long time," Dods said. "I personally loved it. Businesses that derive their incomes from the community need to give back to the community."
