Robin K. Campaniano

President and chief executive officer, AIG Hawaii Insurance Co.

Robin Campaniano's office may appear to be the typical insurance worker's office, but don't be too quick to judge this book by its cover. Like a novel depicting Campaniano's career, the office is chock full of storied treasures, each representing a different chapter in his life.

Photo: Ronen Zilberman

There's the rare, signed portrait of a black-and-white horse, painted by the late John Young (one of Campaniano's favorite local artists), which was given to him by a friend in 1995. And there's a wooden cigar box that was presented to him by Ferdinand Marcos on a visit to the Hawaiian Islands in the early '80s. It sits among a small sampling of Campaniano's collection of wooden boxes that he has received over the years (he keeps another 20 or so boxes at home, along with his cherished collection of koa bowls).

Then there's a favorite of his: a limited-edition lithograph of an old Verizon phone book cover. Although it's not pictured, you probably remember it. "It's the white and bluish cover with all the rocks," describes Campaniano. "It was done by an artist named Hiroki Morinoue, who I really admire." A friend and fellow Top 250 executive, Verizon Hawaii President Warren Haruki, knew Campaniano was a fan and had the lithograph framed for him when the new phone books were introduced in 1999.

"It might not be much, but I guess if my office had a theme, it would be 'Things that were given to me,'" says Campaniano. "Almost everything in here was given to me, and it all brings back certain memories. They each have stories to them, and serve as reminders of some other duty or responsibility that I've had at one time or another."

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