20 for the Next 20: Liane Sugimoto, Prince Resorts Hawaii
The CFO and chief administrative officer uses her expertise in accounting and operations to “take care of employees in innovative ways.”
Liane Sugimoto, who grew up in Mililani, has been money-minded since she was a teenager. While she attended Punahou for high school, her family wasn’t wealthy; in fact, she says, she started working at 14 “and never stopped.”
Given her drive and financial savvy, an accounting career made sense. “I knew it would provide me with a decent living, and I’d be able to be independent, be able to support myself.”
Sugimoto plans ahead: She avoided the time and money of graduate school by double-majoring in accounting and finance at UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business, earning enough credits to take the CPA exam after graduation.
Despite the heavy workload, she still worked through college to help cover her expenses.
In 2010, she became CFO at the Kalihi-Palama Health Center, a nonprofit that provides health care and social services to underserved populations, including people without health insurance. “I find that work rewarding and valuable and fulfilling. I really appreciate what they do for the community and the people they serve,” says Sugimoto. After 12 years there, she was recruited by Prince Resorts Hawaii – and though she says it hurt to leave her colleagues – she decided it was time to “take a leap, make a change.” She still serves on the health center’s board.
As CFO and chief administrative officer at Prince, Sugimoto uses her accounting prowess to implement an enhanced perks system for the entire staff. She says as a leader, “It’s really important to take care of the employees [in] innovative, creative ways.”
Sugimoto also serves on the board of trustees for the 501(c) Agencies Trust. “It’s a national board that provides a very specific service related to unemployment for nonprofits across the United States,” says Ryan Kusumoto, a fellow trustee and president and CEO of the local nonprofit Parents And Children Together.
During the pandemic, Sugimoto collaborated with Kusumoto and fellow 501(c) Agencies Trust board members to support the unemployment claims for nonprofits. “Liane did a really good job of helping to advocate for nonprofits to ensure that the state also included some support for those nonprofits. … She basically saved those nonprofits collectively about $30 million that year. … What that did was it kept those nonprofits afloat during that time, to ensure that services were continuing to be there for the people that needed it.”
