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.
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Aiea Copy Center was fortunate to be designated an essential service provider which allowed us to avoid a shutdown. But it has not been easy. Sales dropped 70% in April. Our…
Virtual Interview: Lindsay Ball, Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lāna‘i-Moloka‘i Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? The Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai Complex Area or “Canoe Complex” schools embarked into this…
Virtual Interview: Chad Keone Farias, Ka‘ū-Kea‘au-Pāhoa Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? It’s an honor to represent the Ka‘ū-Kea‘au-Pāhoa (KKP) complex schools…
Virtual Interview: Esther Kanehailua, Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? At the start of the pandemic, it was about the timely…
What should Hawai‘i’s public health policy be for a return of tourists? While many businesses are looking forward to the phased re-opening of our local economy, introducing tourists back into Hawai‘i needs to be done carefully and with the proper…
Interview with Linell Dilwith, Kaimukī-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? Communication and collaboration were critical in leading through the transition to…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, stores, restaurants, warehouses or other physical locations. We plan to start with counter service, meaning “seat-yourself,” before resuming to full dining service. We don’t yet know how…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, stores, restaurants, and other physical locations. Ka Makana Ali‘i is home to several essential businesses so the center never stopped operating. Those that remained open included Hampton…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Meeting our clients’ requirements for reopening their business. Each state has different guidelines under which stores must operate and be allowed to reopen. We have been creating new solutions to allow…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, restaurants, warehouses or other physical locations. Buzz's Lanikai never closed completely but we rolled right into take out service on March 19. On June 5, we reopened…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, stores, restaurants, warehouses or other physical locations. We are taking an employee-centric and work function perspective that varies upon the department, job responsibilities and our employees’ emotional…
Virtual Interview: Janette Snelling, Honoka‘a-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? I have chosen to lead through the lens of hope and…
Interview with Elisia Flores, L&L’s CEO https://vimeo.com/427216538
Today’s health care interview: Jill Hoggard Green, CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems Hawaii Business Magazine Editor Steve Petranik interviews Hawai‘i’s health care leaders about the way forward as we reopen the local economy. They talk about public health precautions,…
What has been your latest pivot or innovation? Making people love meeting online more than in-person. The slides, the music, the behind-the-scenes tech crew switching cameras and muting/unmuting participants – meetings are no longer meetings. They are multimedia productions! My…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, stores, warehouses or other physical locations. In March, we pivoted to an entirely digital sales experience that used tools such as Webex and Zoom combined with the…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? We provide health care coverage to more than 100,000 people in Hawai‘i, and partner with over 6,500 health care providers including hospitals and long-term care facilities across all the Islands. Even…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices or other physical locations. Following Mayor Caldwell’s order on May 28, we began a phased-in approach to returning to the office beginning June 5. After an initial…
Virtual Interview: Shirley Gambill-De Rego, President & Founder, Alex and Duke DeRego Foundation How has your Organization been able to continue it’s core mission? The mission of the Alex and Duke DeRego Foundation is to provide water safety and ocean awareness…
Virtual Interview: Christine Sakuda, Executive Director, Transform Hawai‘i Government How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? Our mission at Transform Hawai‘i Government (THG) is to advocate for an accessible, accountable and responsive government that enhances the…
Today’s health care interview: Howard Lee, CEO of UHA Health Insurance Hawaii Business Magazine Editor Steve Petranik interviews Hawai‘i’s health care leaders about the way forward as we reopen the local economy. They talk about public health precautions, how to…
Today’s health care interview: Rich Bettini, CEO of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center Hawaii Business Magazine Editor Steve Petranik interviews Hawai‘i’s health care leaders about the way forward as we reopen the local economy. They talk about public health…
Today’s health care interview: Ray Vara Hawaii Business Magazine Editor Steve Petranik interviews Hawai‘i’s health care leaders about the way forward as we reopen the local economy. They talk about public health precautions, how to handle the return of tourists…
As Hawai‘i’s people return to offices, stores, restaurants and other shared locations, what do you think are the main health precautions we should focus on? Hawai‘i is able to begin reopening because our community has embraced guidance from public health…
Today’s health care interview: Dr. Mark Mugiishi Hawaii Business Magazine Editor Steve Petranik interviews Hawai‘i’s health care leaders about the way forward as we reopen the local economy. They talk about public health precautions, how to handle the return of…
Virtual Interview: Christina Kishimoto, Superintendent, Hawai‘i State Department of Education What changes did you and the DOE make to finish this school year? I am proud of the way our students, teachers and staff were able to quickly and effectively…
Virtual Interview: Kathleen Dimino, Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? Listening carefully and understanding how health guidelines impact our school communities…
Please describe how Nalu Health Bar & Café will return to your physical locations. We decided to reopen one location at a time to make sure all new safety procedures were being followed and adapted. We opened our South Shore…
Please describe how and when you are conducting your return to your offices, stores, warehouses or other physical locations. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our clinic has remained open and the leadership team has been meeting at 7…
As a result of COVID-19, what has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? In early February, when COVID-19 began spreading across the globe, our firm organized a crisis response team and committed to three priorities: protect the health and…
Kapa Nui Nails is part of Mana Up’s fifth cohort of Hawai‘i-based companies Born on the island of Hawai‘i in Waimea, Kapa Nui Nails produces a complete line of clean and green high-performance nail products for the conscious consumer: polish,…
Vitalitea Hawaiʻi is part of Mana Up’s fifth cohort of Hawai‘i-based companies Vitalitea Hawaiʻi is made on Maui by local craft brewers seeking a balance of healthy and delicious kombucha and nitro cold brew coffee using fresh pressed tropical fruits, roots…
Jules + Gem Hawai’i is part of Mana Up’s fifth cohort of Hawai‘i-based companies Jules + Gem Hawai‘i is a shop with locally made candles and fragrances created by Lana Gronwald. Gronwald was born and raised in Hawai‘i and always…
Aloha Elixir is part of Mana Up’s fifth cohort of Hawai‘i-based companies Keoki Tavares says he began Aloha Elixir as a way to share his passion for healing and using the power of focused intention as a way to help…
Ua Body is part of Mana Up’s fifth cohort of Hawai‘i-based companies Ua Body continues a family natural skincare line formulated 30 years ago on the Island of Hawai‘i. Ua means rain in Hawaiian and speaks to the nurturing and…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Our latest innovation was engaging other creatives to join my “Think Tank Talk” so we can explore ideas and find silver linings in this cloudy pandemic. We have found that by…
Virtual Interview: Nick Redding, Executive Director, Hawaii Data Collaborative How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? The mission of the Hawaii Data Collaborative is to promote a culture of data-informed decision making in Hawai‘i by making…
Virtual Interview: Sean Tajima, Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area Superintendent, Hawai‘i Department of Education How did you lead through the transition and create a system that allowed students to continue learning? Our schools have had to look for ways to be innovative…
Virtual Interview: Suzanne Rowland, Managing Director, Queen Emma Ballet What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Queen Emma Ballet’s big pivot was going from classes at our studio locations to totally online live stream instruction. Our latest pivot…
Virtual Interview: Trini Kaopuiki Clark, President & CEO, Make a Wish Foundation How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? Although we’ve had to adapt in many ways, our mission of granting life-changing wishes for children with…
