20 for the Next 20: Kyle Shelly, American Savings Bank

A “visionary who sees beyond the numbers,” this senior VP and director of corporate banking helped launch a community development entity.

Hard work and satisfaction over a job well done were instilled in Kyle Shelly at a young age. He grew up on Guam in a supportive family that didn’t have a lot of money but had a lot of love.

“My father was a good role model; he was a hard worker,” Shelly says.

The son is, too: Jobs as a newspaper delivery boy and busboy carried him through high school, and a casino dealer gig took him through college. But Shelly’s passion was golf. After being featured in Sports Illustrated as a high school freshman golfing phenom, he and his mom moved to San Diego when he was 15, home of the prestigious San Diego Junior Golf Association and a mecca for young golfers.

Shelly didn’t become a pro golfer, but that experience shaped his future. After attending San Diego State University, he was hired as a mergers and acquisitions analyst at a San Diego bank. He moved to Hawai‘i in 2010, and in 2012 he joined American Savings Bank.

That’s where his career really took off.

In 2013, Shelly helped launch a nonprofit called Punawai ‘O Pu‘uhonua and secured Hawai‘i’s first loan through the federal New Market Tax Credit, a program that supports community development. The project funded a major hotel renovation in Hilo and as the fund grew to $173.5 million, also served the West Hawai‘i Community Health Center, Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital and clean energy projects in Wai‘anae.

“He’s a visionary who sees beyond the numbers,” says Gary Oda, chairman at Castle Resorts & Hotels. “He embraces your dreams as his own and fights for your success like no one else. Without Kyle and his team at ASB, the much-needed renovations to the iconic Hilo Hawaiian Hotel might never have become a reality.

Now senior VP and director of corporate banking at ASB, Shelly has helped grow ASB’s local and national corporate loan portfolio more than 48%; meanwhile, deposits have increased by 274%.

A mentor for more than a decade with Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i, Shelly also visits with students in their classrooms to share his financial expertise. He’s on the executive board of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and is active on several committees.

“Kyle’s vision and leadership have redefined what it means to be an engaged leader,” says Sherry Menor-McNamara, chamber president
and CEO.

Shelly says he’s grateful for his job at the bank. “Their values at ASB match my own, and that is a recipe to thrive.”