Hawai‘i’s Top Business Leaders in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s

William K.H. Mau
Chairman of the Board, American Security Bank
1966 Businessman of the Year

Mau’s first break was buying a half interest in a hot dog stand, but he soon showed a knack for real estate development. At American Security Bank (which decades later and after several transactions, eventually became part of Bank of America), he ushered in a new and multicultural image for the bank, offering night hours, opening more branches and making borrowing easier. He saw the immense potential of Waikīkī and created the Waikiki Business Plaza, with its revolving Top of Waikiki restaurant. It opened in 1965 with Mau lighting a string of 100,000 firecrackers. He also developed the 315-room Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, which opened in 1968, and the Empress Hotel in Hong Kong, among many other ventures. He died in 2011 at age 97 and in his obituary, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Mau was involved in a multimillion-dollar tax fight with the IRS in the early 2000s.

Hawai‘i’s Ambitious Young Newcomers
1967 Businessman of the Year

The magazine surveyed a crop of young businessmen – and a few women – under the age of 35. Each had migrated to the Islands and were already playing active roles in the community. They included Gerald Allison, partner at architecture firm Wimberly, Whisenand, Allison and Cook (which later evolved into the international firm WATG); Tap Pryor, who created Sea Life Park and was working to make Hawai‘i a center of oceanography; and Hal Hansen, one of the biggest condo developers in the state. Chris Hemmeter (see 1977, when he was Businessman of the Year), then only in his 20s, was already making waves in restaurant operations. Ken Smith, age 27, was building a 100-unit marina subdivision at Hawai‘i Kai. Bob Behnke built a computer firm that worked with the military and private companies. Ernie and Barbara “Baba” White had a fashion line, Baba Kea, while another husband-and-wife team, Bruce and Pegge Hopper, were slaying it in the design field. The newcomers were even getting into politics, the magazine noted, with John Goemans elected to the state House after just squeaking in to make the residency requirement.

Chinn Ho
President, Capital Investment Co.
1968 Businessman of the Year

A shopkeeper’s-son-turned-multimillionaire, Ho gained a reputation for his savvy land investments before blossoming into a hotel developer. In 1963, he took over the floundering Ilikai, pivoting it from selling apartment units to hotel rooms, with total private investments of $45 million. He was internationally famous: Time magazine dubbed Ho “the Rockefeller of Hawai‘i”; both versions of TV’s “Hawaii Five-O” had a character named Chin Ho Kelly and James Michener modeled his character Hong Kong Kee on Ho in his book “Hawaii.” At Theo H. Davies & Co., Ho became the first Asian American to serve on the board of a Big Five company. He also headed up a group of investors who owned the Honolulu Star-Bulletin from 1961 until 1971. A philanthropist, he died in 1987 at age 83.

The Worker
Hawai‘i’s Manpower Shortage Grows Critical
1969 Man of the Year

With its economy soaring 12% to 15% a year, Hawai‘i had one of the highest rates of growth in the nation. But with statewide unemployment at less than 3%, businesses struggled to find workers. Tourism, which was the fastest growing industry at the time, was especially eager for employees, as were construction companies, pineapple growers and police departments. “The high cost of living, the short supply of housing, and the limited range of job opportunities are the three major factors that not only discourage many people from coming to Hawai‘i, but actually encourage many local people to leave.” Sound familiar?

Lowell Dillingham
Chairman of the Board, CEO, Dillingham Corp.
1970 Businessman of the Year

The third generation to run the business founded by his grandfather in 1889, Lowell Dillingham was king of the deal. In the 1950s, as president of Hawaiian Land Co., a precursor to Dillingham Corp., or Dilco, Dillingham spearheaded the development and financing of Ala Moana Center. During his tenure at Dilco, the company completed acquisitions of 7 out of every 10 firms it went after. Dilco branched out from its origins in construction, land development and maritime industries to become a diversified, international firm doing business in energy distribution, mining, automotive parts, and even the interior design industry. Dillingham was elected to the Hawai‘i House of Representatives in 1984. He died at age 76 in 1987.

Harry Flagg
President, Telecheck International
1971 Businessman of the Year

A graduate of MIT, Harry Flagg came to Hawai‘i in 1958 with the Navy and, once discharged, became a management consultant. He noticed that many businesspeople were concerned with check verification, so in 1964 he started Telecheck, a data processing and check cashing service. By 1969, it was a $2 million a year operation, and grew to a $50 million a year business by January 1971, with Flagg expanding into investments as diverse as business colleges, oceanography and houseboat manufacturing. Alas, it was not to last. In May 1972, Telecheck filed for bankruptcy and Flagg stepped down as chairman and president. In 2005, Flagg was a defendant in a multilevel marketing case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. In the final settlement, though he admitted no liability, Flagg was “prohibited from engaging or participating in any prohibited marketing program,” according to the FTC’s court filing.

Herbert T. Hayashi
Chairman, HTH Corp.
1972 Businessman of the Year

The son of sugar plantation workers, Herbert Takami (“H.T.”) Hayashi began in construction before rising in the hospitality industry. When he was profiled, he had recently bought the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikīkī (renamed in 2017 as the ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach). He was also wrapping up a $2 million redevelopment project that turned a vacant roller rink on Ke‘eaumoku Street into the Hawai‘i Manufacturing Center. There, visitors could watch and shop among 30-some businesses as local artisans created their wares. Hayashi was also the owner of the Pagoda Hotel and Floating Restaurant, which he opened in 1964 – the venue is now owned by aio, the parent company of Hawaii Business Magazine – and King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. Hayashi died in 2005 at age 85.

Henry A. Walker Jr.
President and CEO, American Factors
1973 Man of the Year

After taking his role in 1967, Walker oversaw explosive growth at American Factors (later Amfac), turning the Big Five sugar company into Hawai‘i’s largest company. In 1973, the corporation had $750 million in revenue and 20,000 employees spread across agriculture, mortgage banking, restaurants, electrical supplies and more. Eighty percent of its businesses were outside of Hawai‘i, including on the West Coast, in Japan and in South America. One of Amfac’s best known entities was department store chain Liberty House; the company also developed Whalers Village on Maui. Walker’s father was Amfac’s president starting in 1927. Henry Jr. joined in 1947, starting as a trainee loading trucks and rising through the company ranks. He died in 2000 at age 78.

Hideo Shoji
Manager, Makaha Inn and Country Club
1974 Man of the Year

In 1973, Tokyo businessman Mineo Shoji paid $14.5 million to buy the Makaha Inn and Country Club from its developer, Chinn Ho of Capital Investment. Shoji sent his 31-year-old son and company VP, Hideo Shoji, to manage the resort. As the company’s first overseas venture, the Mākaha property had 196 hotel rooms, 350 acres of golf courses and undeveloped land. Hideo Shoji represented a wave of Japanese investors who came to the Islands from 1971 to 1973, and false rumors flew that one of the property’s two golf courses would be reserved for Japanese nationals only. Nearly from the get-go, the property struggled, with occupancy rates below 20% and by 1976 the owners were in bankruptcy court.

James Gary
President, Pacific Resources Inc.
1975 Man of the Year

Energy expert James Gary’s first job in Hawai‘i was as an executive at Honolulu Gas Co. (now Hawai‘i Gas) in 1967. In 1971, he founded a parent holding company, Pacific Resources Inc., for Honolulu Gas and the new Hawaiian Independent Refinery. Gary had worked with Gov. John Burns, U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye to bring the refinery to the state; it opened in 1972 in a Foreign Trade Zone at Campbell Industrial Park. (The refinery is now owned by Par Hawaii.) PRI companies became key suppliers of jet and diesel fuels, gasoline, synthetic natural gas and propane throughout the Pacific Basin, and under Gary’s leadership, went from $18 million in yearly sales to $1.7 billion. Gary died in 2004 at age 83.

John Bellinger
President and CEO, First Hawaiian Bank
1976 Businessman of the Year

A star athlete at Roosevelt High School, Bellinger began his career at Bishop & Co. as a teller in 1942. In 1969 – the same year the bank’s name was changed to First Hawaiian Bank – he became president. During his tenure, the bank’s total assets, profits and paid dividends rose, and in 1976, the bank’s assets exceeded $1 billion for the first time. In 1975, he oversaw the acquisition of Hawaii Thrift & Loan Co. The community-focused Bellinger also raised money for renovations at Palama Settlement and Kawaiaha‘o Church. He died suddenly in 1989 at age 66. Hawaii Business wrote that he was “burly” and “at times gruff,” yet he fostered an excellent team that included his successor, Walter Dods Jr.

Chris Hemmeter
Developer
1977 Businessman of the Year

Few had the charm and audacious vision of Chris Hemmeter, who when profiled at age 37 had an empire made up of a half-dozen corporations and partnerships. He had just developed Hemmeter Center, which included the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and its swanky waterfall-decorated lobby, and a 100,000-square-foot shopping center. Hemmeter started as a trainee at the Sheraton Royal Hawaiian and when he became a developer, was known for his lavish hotels, such as the Westin Kaua‘i, where a team of Clydesdales pulled wagons (that resort was later a casualty of Hurricane Iniki). In 1991, Hemmeter moved his operations to the mainland, where he invested in gambling businesses, especially in New Orleans. He was wheeling and dealing until the end, working on a golf-based project and a Western style restaurant when he died at age 64 in 2003.

Elmer Cravalho
Mayor of Maui County
1978 Man of the Year

The strong-willed first mayor of Maui, Cravalho fought for the county’s ability to control its own growth – especially as it related to the tourism industry – rather than being dictated to by the state. Cravalho served as speaker of the territorial and state House of Representatives from 1958 to 1967. Hawaii Business Magazine named him Man of the Year nine years into his role as mayor, when he was helping guide the development of Wailea and Kīhei. “Rigid, hard, dictatorial – I’ve heard all that before … but I’m not wishy-washy,” he said. He abruptly retired as mayor in 1979. Cravalho was a founding member of the Kula Community Federal Credit Union in 1954 and served on its board until 2014. He died in 2016 at age 90.

Lex Brodie
President, Lex Brodie Tire Co.
1979 Man of the Year

Alexander “Lex” Brodie was a graduate of Roosevelt High School and in the 1930s was among the first Waikīkī Beach Boys. He opened his first Lex Brodie’s Tire Co. in Kāne‘ohe in 1958; he moved to the corner of Queen and Coral streets in Honolulu in 1964, where the company’s flagship operation remains. His business became famous for its hammer-wielding caveman mascot, speedy customer service and TV commercials that ended with Brodie saying, “Thank you, very much.” In 1975, he co-founded a group to represent the interests of small businesses at the state Legislature, and feuded with the state over its unemployment insurance benefits system. In 1979, his business was a $5 million a year enterprise with a profit-sharing plan for its 50 employees. He served on the state Board of Education from 1992 to 2003, and surfed until age 90. He died in 2013 at age 98.

Carl Williams
President, Hawaiian Electric Co.
1980 Man of the Year

Georgia native Carl Williams wound up on O‘ahu at the end of his World War II Army service. He took a mechanical engineering job at HECO in 1945. Known for his no-nonsense approach, Williams became HECO’s president in 1972, guiding the company through the challenging energy sector atmosphere of the 1970s. Tight regulations, oil embargoes and a 2.5% average annual increase in demand for power from HECO customers all kept him on his toes. During his tenure the company began planning for a wind farm in Kahuku. Williams retired from HECO at the end of 1980; he died in 2004 at age 89.

Eileen Anderson
Mayor, City and County of Honolulu
1981 Woman of the Year

A social liberal and fiscal conservative, Democrat Eileen Anderson was the first and only woman to become mayor of Honolulu, coming from behind to beat flamboyant incumbent Frank Fasi in 1980. She had been working for the state in various capacities for a quarter century, including as Hawai‘i’s first director of the Department of Budget and Finance. During her tenure as mayor, she focused on lowering crime, improvements in Waikīkī and investing in TheBus. She canceled the Honolulu Area Rail Rapid Transit project after federal funding became tenuous. Anderson was an avid sports fan and volunteered with the Boy and Girl Scouts, Aloha United Way and Kaneohe Little League. She died in 2021 at the age of 93.

How Mid Pac Upset the Airline Applecart
1982 Story of the Year

Mid Pacific Air – founded by former Hawaiian Airlines executives – started flying in March 1981. President John Higgins, VP of Finance and Administration Ed Nielsen and Senior VP Nolan Kramer were featured in the Hawaii Business story, which described how Mid Pac had found a niche in the no-frills travel market. Its super-low prices, such as a $10.95 standby fare ($35.68 in 2024 dollars), triggered fare wars with local competitors Hawaiian, Royal Hawaiian Air Service, Air Hawaii, Midway Airlines and Aloha Airlines, among others. Mid Pac also cut costs by using nonunion labor and turboprop planes. “We’re definitely here to stay,” said Higgins. But by 1988, Mid Pacific was out of business.

The Battle for Crown
1983 Story of the Year

It seemed like a routine business lunch, but after the dishes were cleared, Crown Corp. President Bill Fuller was staring down a takeover of Crown, a diversified holding company with about $22 million in assets. The takeover was initiated by Evanston Ltd. – a company that had been formed for the sole purpose of buying Crown. It included Greg Watkins, a fourth-generation builder/developer based out of Brisbane, Australia; two local real estate pros, Bill Atkins and Robert Holman; and another Aussie, Hugh McMaster. At first, Crown stockholders resisted, but after a four-month battle, the deal was settled at $5.25 million. Evanston changed the name from Crown to Watkins Pacific Corp. – or Watpac – operating subsidiaries Honolulu Roofing, Mercantile Printing, Monarch Building Supply, Tongg Publishing and K. Yamada Distributors. And despite the kerfuffle, Fuller stayed with the company. In 2018, Watpac was acquired by Dutch company BESIX and is now known as BESIX Watpac.

Goodbye Big Five
1984 Story of the Year

The magazine documented the end of an era. In 1983, two of Hawai‘i’s Big Five, Amfac and Castle & Cooke, appointed non-Hawai‘i CEOs and moved their administrative headquarters to the mainland. Two others, Theo H. Davies and C. Brewer, had already been reporting to out-of-state parent companies, and Alexander & Baldwin was looking for a mainland investor while seeking to diversify. For 100 years, most of the state’s workforce had been employed by or at least connected to one of the Big Five, which led the sugar and pineapple industries. The Big Five held sway over the government of Hawai‘i, too. But by the 1980s, economic dependency on the Big Five had weakened, with the state increasingly reliant on tourism, construction and military spending.

The Regulators: Can the kids handle the scams?
1985 Story of the Year

The magazine profiled the four new watchdogs heading up the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, all of them lawyers: DCCA Director Russel Nagata and Deputy Director Robert “Robbie” Alm, then both 33; Bank Examiner Donna Tanoue, 30; and Insurance Commissioner Mario Ramil, the old man of the group at 38. It was a delicate time, with Reaganomics leading to the deregulation of many industries. The group was somewhat outgunned – its members didn’t have computers yet, though many of their counterparts in the business world did. But they went on to illustrious careers. Nagata became state comptroller and then a judge. Alm was executive VP of Hawaiian Electric prior to his current position as president of the Collaborative Leaders Network, an Omidyar Family Enterprise initiative. Tanoue served as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Washington, D.C., during the Clinton administration, and as vice chairman at Bank of Hawai‘i until 2018. (She is also married to Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of Honolulu from 2013 to 2021.) Ramil died in 2017 at age 70, having served on the Hawai‘i Supreme Court from 1993 to 2002.

David Murdock
Chairman/CEO, Castle & Cooke
1986 Story of the Year

He left school after the ninth grade, but by 1985, California-based real estate financier David Murdock had amassed a fortune that allowed him to take over Castle & Cooke in a deal that included Dole Food Co. and 98% of Lāna‘i. Murdock merged a transportation company he controlled, New York-based Flexi-Van Corp., with Castle & Cooke, which was at the time overdue on $7 million in interest payments and facing potential bankruptcy. Some people opposed the merger – the cover page headline on the January 1986 issue was “Murdock takes over: Rescue or raid?” But he told Hawaii Business Magazine that “between 75 and 85% of all the shareholders voted in favor of my coming in. Is that a raid?” A proponent of a plant-based diet, Murdock is, at the time of this writing, 101 years old and still CEO of Castle & Cooke.

Is Waihe‘e Bad News for Business?
1987 Story of the Year

John Waihe‘e III was elected governor little more than a month before this article appeared, so the speculative answers to the question asked in the cover page headline was based on interviews with many sources but not on Waihe‘e’s actual actions in office. He was the first, and remains the only, elected governor of Native Hawaiian ancestry and served until 1994. He was born in Honoka‘a on Hawai‘i Island, graduated from UH’s Richardson School of Law and was instrumental in the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, through his leadership at the 1978 Constitutional Convention. Prior to being elected as governor, Waihe‘e had been lieutenant governor under Gov. George Ariyoshi. After Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Waihe‘e traveled internationally to promote Hawai‘i tourism. In July 2024, at age 78, he was elected by the East-West Center Board of Governors as its new chairperson.

The New Big Five?
1988 Story of the Year

In 1984’s Hawaii Business story “Goodbye Big Five,” the magazine noted that Amfac, Castle & Cooke, Theo H. Davies, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin had lost their traditional grip on Hawai‘i’s economy. The “New Big Five” were foreign investors – from Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom – who had cumulatively accounted for 95% of total foreign investments in Hawai‘i since the 1950s. Other offshore investors were starting to flex their muscles, including those from Indonesia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The types of foreign investments were shifting, too, from hotels, restaurants and smaller manufacturing companies to corporate stocks and land holdings. The flow of cash was quenching Hawai‘i’s thirst for capital, but some residents worried that foreign investments were causing higher housing prices and a loss of local economic control.

The Year of the Buyout
1989 Story of the Year

In the previous 15 months, dozens of Hawai‘i-based companies had been acquired by national or international entities. Those companies spanned 21 industries, from construction and auto sales to resorts and ranching. The story explored the potential effects: On the plus side, new owners might bring in stronger management and new resources; on the flip side, concerns were raised about possible absentee management and a sell-off of assets, such as land holdings. Many of the new owners – aware of these concerns – tried to build good relationships by supporting local charities and community projects. For example, David Murdock, who had taken over Castle & Cooke and was developing resorts on Lāna‘i, built a recreation center there for
the community.

The Japaning of Hawaii
1990 Story of the Decade

Throughout the 1980s, as Japan’s economy boomed, Japanese investment touched nearly every sector of Hawai‘i’s economy, especially tourism, real estate and construction. In the late 1980s, Japanese investors bought 58 7-Eleven convenience stores, began development of Ko Olina, and purchased the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu, among many other deals. In 1988 alone, Japanese investors accounted for 92% of the foreign money coming into the state. The influx of capital boosted Hawai‘i’s economy and helped make it a player in the international market. The governor at the time, John Waihe‘e, noted that while Island residents benefited from an economy fueled by international investments, there was also a “sense of loss – loss of their land to others, and more important, loss of control.” Whether it was good or bad, the magazine concluded, it was reality.