Hawaii Business Magazine asked Jeffrey Shonka, president and CEO of First Insurance Co. of Hawaii, about insurance and broader issues in a wide-ranging interview. The conversation has been edited for length. How has the COVID-19 crisis disrupted the insurance…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? In April, PrimeLending implemented a new Loan Origination System, Blue Sage, an industry-leading platform that enables our loan officers to deliver homeowners a seamless, secure and superior mortgage experience. With Blue…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? As our clients plan for the eventual return of their workforce, we’re developing strategies to make sure employees feel safe and confident in their environment. Many open office layouts no longer…
Virtual Interview: Rev. Anke Flohr, Executive Director, Pacific Health Ministry How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? While medical workers are on the frontlines every day treating the physical needs that people have during the pandemic,…
Virtual Interview Susan Furuta, President & CEO, Helping Hands Hawai‘i How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? All of our programs are still operating and accessible by phone or email but have adapted to the changing…
What is the state government doing to support local businesses during this crisis? As soon as I ordered the stay-at-home social distancing mandates to protect the health and safety of our community, Hawai‘i’s businesses had to make drastic and immediate…
Virtual Interview: Heather Nakakura, Director, West Hawaii Explorations Academy What changes did you make to finish this school year, and have you made plans for summer school? I’m very proud of the way our staff pulled together as a team…
Virtual Interview: Dr. Kyle Atabay, Principal, and Brother Brian M. Walsh, President, Damien Memorial School What changes did you make to finish this school year, and have you made plans for summer school? Atabay: Our third quarter ended on March…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Since a statewide shelter-in-place order was issued for California in mid-March, and Hawai‘i shortly thereafter, our office workforce has gone virtual, equipped with the resources needed to work remotely at full…
Are you considering changing the Island Olive Oil Co. business model? We had to make several changes to our business model quickly so we could continue to operate. We lost our entire wholesale unit when the restaurants closed, and our…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Out of concern for flattening the curve, and before we were required to do so, Still & Moving Center shut its doors, cancelling 75 classes a week. That was Tuesday evening,…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? The drastic reduction of passenger flights into the islands and tourism on the islands has significantly changed the supply and demand for both freight movement and aircraft maintenance. Our team has…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? We had to pivot from business as usual to comprehending what this economic “stop and hold” means to our clients and the community. Strategic communications planning, as well as crisis management,…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Throughout this unprecedented time, we have been committed to proactive and proportional responses. At the outset, we made open, honest and frequent communication a cornerstone of our response. We ensure that…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Carbon Lighthouse is an Energy Savings-as-a-Service company that delivers profitable climate solutions for commercial real estate portfolios. Our patented AI platform CLUES, built in-house and used by Carbon Lighthouse engineers, analyzes…
Virtual Interview: Lani Go-Keala, Executive Director and Kahealani Rivera, M.D., Board President, American Heart Association Hawai‘i Division How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? Rivera: The mission of American Heart Association Hawai‘i Division remains vital especially…
Virtual Interview: Lee Higa-Okamoto, Executive Director, Friends of the Waikīkī Aquarium How has your organization been able to continue its core mission? The Friends of the Waikīkī Aquarium (FOWA) has continued to support the Aquarium’s mission to inspire and promote understanding, appreciation…
Virtual Interview: Sam Church, Executive Director, Family Promise of Hawai‘i How has your organization been able to continue its core mission(s)? Our mission is to help homeless and low-income families in Hawai‘i achieve sustainable independence by mobilizing existing community resources…
Virtual Interview: Celeste Akiu, Principal, Holy Family Catholic Academy & Early Learning Center What changes did you make to finish this school year, and have you made plans for summer school? Holy Family Catholic Academy & Early Learning Center (HFCA)…
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis? In this challenging time a couple of things have really helped our ‘ohana such as staying nimble, daily virtual touches and keeping a sense of humor. We share with each other what’s…
What has been Cropsticks’ latest pivot or innovation? Immediately, we have lowered our minimums for distributor and restaurant partners on any new orders to help us all get through this. In addition, we now offer consulting for restaurants looking to…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? With the tremendous drop in tourism that occurred with COVID-19, we joined forces with our sister restaurant Stripsteak, and created a consolidated menu to offer for takeout and delivery for every…
What has been Maui Nui Venison’ latest pivot or innovation? Our latest pivot was the launch of our Holo ‘Ai program. Holo ‘Ai is a term for a traditional bundle of food with an alternate meaning of moving or speeding…
What has been your company’s latest pivot or innovation? Beach Day Hawai‘i is an experiential service company that creates unique, personalized beach experiences for people traveling to Hawai‘i. During this event we’ve focused on the technology we would implement to…