Virtual Interview on COVID-19: John Leong, CEO, KUPU
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? This crisis is a call for us to come together and to strengthen our resolve to show Aloha through action. It is a call for us to step up, if we are…
Steve Petranik
Steve Petranik has been an editor and reporter for almost four decades and now is the editor of Hawaii Business. Before joining the magazine in 2009, he spent 18 years as an editor at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and five years at the Honolulu Advertiser. He’s reported from six countries on three continents and his stories have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times.
Articles
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Bettina Mehnert, CEO, AHL
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We made the decision to work remotely on March 13, and we haven’t slowed down at all. Our clients have adapted as well, and we are holding meetings virtually, handling a full schedule of project work. …
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Shari Chang, CEO, Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Our biggest goal during this time is support girls and their families – to help reduce anxiety and restore normalcy in their lives. We wanted to find a way to keep girls…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Bob Harrison, CEO, First Hawaiian Bank
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Our team is coping well with what is truly an unprecedented community health and economic challenge. It has been amazing to see how quickly and effectively our team has been able to…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Lisa Truong Kracher, President & CEO, Staffing Solutions of Hawaii and Kahu Malama Nurses
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Our teams at Staffing Solutions of Hawaii and Kahu Malama Nurses are facing challenges we have never faced before in all aspects of our organization. We are keeping up with the latest…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Michael Broderick, President & CEO, YMCA of Honolulu
Have you found silver linings in these difficult times? It has been incredible to see how our staff, board and our larger community have rallied together. Within hours of sharing information about the closure of our facilities we had folks…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Keri Shepherd, Producing Area Manager on O‘ahu, Homebridge Financial Services
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We’ve been really busy actually, mostly with refinancing loans and pre-approving folks so that when it's time to lock in a low interest rate they are ready to go. The real estate…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Jared Grugett, President and COO, HDT
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? As an internet service provider, this is a very interesting time for us, as it is for most businesses. We have the challenge of providing in-home services and while everyone is currently…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Bryan Luke, President and CEO, Hawaii National Bank
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Like most businesses in Hawai‘i and around the world, we have had to change certain aspects of our operations to ensure the health and safety of our customers, our employees and our…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Mark Yamakawa, President & CEO, Hawaii Dental Service (HDS)
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? A pandemic is a new experience for many of us, including HDS. It’s putting all of us to the test and has shown us the importance of being flexible and nimble to…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Karen Tan, President and CEO, Child & Family Service
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Right now, I give myself grace and practice understanding. We are navigating unchartered waters with this global pandemic, and new updates come in throughout the day. This means decision making is challenging,…
BOSS Survey Assesses COVID-19’s Effects on Business
If you are the owner or a senior executive of a Hawai‘i business and would like to participate in this important survey, email Marco.DiBartolomeo@anthologygroup.com
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Ken Gilbert, Co-founder, Business Consulting Resources
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We are doing what we know has to get done for our consulting clients and our firm. We know the virus will get under control, although we do not know when. We…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Christine Lanning, President, Integrated Security Technologies Inc.
Lanning is Hawai‘i SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We are following all government guidelines and providing communication, support and calm to our employees and customers. We are asking our staff…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Halona Norton-Westbrook, Director, Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA)
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? While these are challenging times for all of us, we have made important changes at the museum to strengthen communications as we adjust to the new norm of working remotely. Our senior…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Jeffrey A. Shonka, President & CEO, First Insurance Co. of Hawaii
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We recognize that a lot of families and businesses are hurting. FICOH is fortunate in that we’re less vulnerable to hardship than restaurants, merchants, hotels and other businesses, which are directly affected…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: LJ Duenas, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Association, Aloha Chapter
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? This is a very stressful time for many, with fear, anxiety and much uncertainty of what tomorrow will look like. Focusing on managing stress and staying calm has been a priority for…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Steven J. Teruya, President & COO, Finance Factors
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We are doing relatively well under the stressful circumstance in maintaining constant communication with our employees, customers and stakeholders Did your business continuity plan work or were there surprises? Yes, it worked.…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19:
Timothy E. Johns, CEO, Zephyr Insurance Co. Inc.
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? At Zephyr, our mission is to help protect Hawai‘i residents during times of disaster. While this situation is very different from a hurricane, the health and safety of our customers, agents and…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Byron N. Yoshino, President & CEO, Pharmacare Hawaii
How are you coping the amid COVID-19 crisis? We are coping well under the circumstances. All of our pharmacies continue to operate and service patients. While we have made some adjustments, we have been able to keep up so far.…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Jill Hoggard Green, President and CEO, The Queen’s Health Systems
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? The Queen’s Health Systems recognizes this is a crucial time and is working around the clock to minimize and suppress the spread of the disease while preparing and caring for patients with…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Scott Seu, President and CEO, Hawaiian Electric
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? Everyone at Hawaiian Electric is keenly aware that reliable electric service is essential to everyone, especially now. There’s no question we must maintain our high levels of performance. Hawaiian Electric is in…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Judy Bishop, Owner and President, Bishop & Co.
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We have gone 100% remote. Did your business continuity plan work or were there surprises? Our business continuity plan worked pretty well – very few surprises. We felt good about the processes…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Charles Kaneshiro, President and COO, G70
How are you coping amid COVID-19 crisis? G70 has transitioned to a work-from-home platform for 100% of our architectural, interior design, planning and engineering staff. All meetings have migrated to a teleconferencing format. Our physical office is closed except for…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Martin J. Welch, CEO, HEMIC
Did your business continuity plan work or were there surprises? While it is difficult to imagine executing any Business Continuity Plan to perfection under these unprecedented circumstances, I’m pleased to say that our implementation has gone quite smoothly. We made…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Kathryn Raethel, President, Adventist Health Castle in Kailua
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? As a vital health care provider on the Windward side of O‘ahu, Adventist Health Castle prepares for all types of emergencies. We are now in operational mode with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Jason Brand, Co-founder, KōHana Distillers
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? We ensured that our employees and visitors were safe by quickly instituting new processes. Then we focused on ensuring the financial health of our company going into a zero to no revenue…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19:
Ben Godsey, President and CEO, ProService Hawaii
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? This is a really big challenge. Having been through the Great Recession and dotcom bust, this is 10 times worse because of the speed and completeness of the economy shutdown. Our business…
Virtual Interview on COVID-19:
Mark Mugiishi, M.D., President and CEO, HMSA
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? At HMSA, we immediately recognized that our challenge as a health organization would be to balance service to our members, social responsibility to the community and care for our employees. We formed…
We Add Methods But Retain Our Core Mission
The mission of Hawaii Business Magazine is holding steady. What changes is how we keep adding to the ways we fulfill that mission. Throughout our six decades, our role in driving positive change in Hawai‘i has been to provide important…
TV Editorials Become a Book that Urges You to “Think About It”
Local TV executive and columnist John Fink has turned the best from 19 years of on-air editorials into a book with the same title he used back then, “Think About It.” While Fink served as GM of the KHNL and…
Businesses Speak: How to Improve the Business Climate
The BOSS Survey sought answers from 433 business representatives statewide Respondents were presented with four frequently suggested ways to improve the local business climate and asked which ones would be effective. They could choose as many as they wished. Respondents…
Hawai‘i’s People Describe the Climate Changes They Are Seeing
The BOSS Survey interviewed 433 business representatives statewide; the 808 Poll reached 473 adult members of the general public statewide In both surveys, people were asked which of these descriptions of man-made climate change best reflects their thinking. [caption id="attachment_40498"…
What Keeps Me Up at Night Should Bother You, Too
When I want to know a CEO’s biggest long-term concern, I ask: What keeps you up at night? Sometimes, my question is focused on the CEO’s own company or industry. Sometimes, my question is about Hawai‘i or our whole world.…
Building on the Momentum for CHANGE
The editorial team at Hawaii Business Magazine spent a lot of time, energy and brainpower last year producing six CHANGE Reports. I am as proud of those reports as anything I have worked on in 34 years of journalism in…
An Easy Way to Support Public Schools
It’s amazing how much passion there is within local businesses to support Hawai‘i’s schools and students. But how to connect the two, because many businesspeople don’t know many teachers and vice versa? Inspired by the momentum for CHANGE in Hawai‘i,…
Business Leaders and Public Agree: Complete TMT
BOSS Survey interviewed 433 business representatives statewide; 808 Poll reached 473 adult members of the general public statewide Respondents in both surveys were asked: Should the Thirty Meter Telescope be completed? Support for completion was stronger on O‘ahu than…
Business Leaders and Public Agree: Raise the Minimum Wage
BOSS Survey interviewed 433 business representatives statewide; 808 Poll reached 473 adult members of the general public statewide Asked for their personal opinion on whether the state should raise the minimum wage, the separate surveys of business leaders and the…
BOSS Survey Methodology
The BOSS survey was conducted for Hawaii Business Magazine by the research division of the Anthology Marketing Group. The study was conducted using a company listing purchased from Equifax Polk Business Directory as well as Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250…
We’re 65 Years Old and Never Felt Younger
Ethel and Joe Murphy launched a business magazine in 1955 called Hawaii Engineer, which eventually morphed into Hawaii Business. That founding 65 years ago makes us the first and oldest regional business magazine in the country.
