50 and Firing

"I think everybody has moments in their life that define them. Some are luck, and some are happenstance. I've sort of had several of those moments in my lifetime, one of the most pivotal of which was when my father-in-law [Richard Kelley, son of Outrigger founder Roy Kelley] appointed me CEO [in 1994]," he says. "That was probably two or three years before I was mentally ready to do that, and, for a long time, I really looked at him to do a lot of things that a CEO is really supposed to do. Then one day I realized it was my time, and I needed to do things my way or go do something else."

Photo: Cory Lum

Carey's way meant big changes for the growing family business, which for decades was best known for providing reasonable, one-size-fits-all accommodations for budget-minded travelers. In 1999, Carey did the unthinkable, slapping a new brand, OHANA hotels, on its budget properties, and upgrading the remaining Outrigger properties into higher-end, upscale resorts. It was a bold move, but Carey says his Waikiki was certainly not his father-in-law's nor his grandfather-in-law's Waikiki. "Roy's original notion was to create a budget-minded alternative, which I think was really the basis for the growth of the visitor industry here," says Carey. "But the expectations of the customers have changed, and there became a need to have multiple brands and multiple levels of quality. The company he ran was a very, very different business."

These days, Carey is much more at ease behind the captain's desk at Outrigger, perhaps because, at 50 years old, he's finally learned not to spend all of his time behind it. Carey spends about a quarter of his time on political and community activities, which, aside from being expected of a senior executive in this town, is something he feels "contributes to a company's reputation and enables it to better do business in the community." At the top of Carey's agenda: fixing the public education system. "I'm very concerned that, by under-educating our children, we are making America and Hawaii uncompetitive in the world, or giving the kids that grow up here no chance," says Carey, who co-chairs the Department of Education's Interagency Working Group. Having four children of his own (ranging from a high school freshman to a junior in college) helps fuel that fire.

But not all of Carey's time is spent fighting the good fight. A lifelong soccer player, who quit the sport four years ago, after wearing down the cartilage in his knees and ankles, Carey has turned his attention toward a slightly less physical sport - golf. "That's maybe one of the few regrets I have - I wish I'd taken better care of my ankles and knees," says Carey, who sports a single-digit handicap. "But I've never really been the kind of person to dwell on stuff in the past, so now I'm fine with just playing golf and some tennis occasionally. I'll always be a sports junkie, so now I'm just trying to dial my golf game up before I start feeling too old." Something tells us that won't be anytime soon.