How do you give back to your community?

As CEO of HEMIC, I was proud to spearhead the founding of the HEMIC Foundation in 2020, a 501(c)(3) which formalized and deepened HEMIC’s community philanthropy. Our foundation partners with local organizations dedicated to supporting our local community with impactful, outcomes-based programs and initiatives. The foundation’s giving continues to grow year-over-year: Since its recent inception, HEMIC Foundation has donated more than $350,000 to local organizations, including over $40,000 raised annually from our charitable golf tournament.

I have actively supported and advocated for Hawai‘i’s business community through my involvement with the Chamber of Commerce. I have found it particularly rewarding to work with the Chamber’s YP (Young Professionals) Mentorship program, to engage and grow our next generation of business leaders. My own life has also been enriched by how much I have learned from them.

In 2019, HEMIC made a purposeful decision to purchase the downtown office building that now houses our corporate headquarters. This was intended to keep us close to many of our customers, agents, and business partners, as well as to be part of the solution for maintaining a healthy downtown business community. While we also experienced, first-hand, the ripple effects the pandemic had on homelessness, crime, and safety in Downtown Honolulu and surrounding neighborhoods, we became actively engaged with the Mayor’s Office, HPD, the Chief Prosecutor’s office and others, to create a safer downtown environment that will encourage new business development and a vibrant, productive community.

I have been an ardent supporter of the Arthritis Foundation for much of my life, including as Chairman of the Hawaii Arthritis Foundation for the past eight years. One in four adults in the U.S. lives with arthritis, including several members of my extended family. While many people think of arthritis as something that afflicts the elderly, two-thirds of the people living with arthritis are younger than age 65, including more than 300,000 children in the U.S. (1,200 here in Hawai‘i). The Arthritis Foundation funds research, education and life-changing programs like Camp Mana‘olana, which provides keiki with arthritis the opportunity to interact with other children just like them, facilitating their learning more about their disease and helping them to thrive.

What does giving back mean to you?

As members of a community, we have a responsibility, and the privilege, to care for our neighbors, so that together we can enjoy fuller, richer lives. At HEMIC, we believe it is our kuleana to help and support not only our employer customers, but the greater community that serves their employees and families as well. 

As a result, in 2020, when we experienced the severe impacts of a worldwide pandemic and its devastating impact on our economy, HEMIC looked for ways to specifically address the immediate needs of our customers and their employees. We offered a Premium Suspension Program, enabling businesses with little or no revenue coming in to delay their premium without fear of cancellation; soon after, we launched a $2 million Premium Relief Program to put real cash back in our policyholders’ hands at a time when they needed it most.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?

As you spend your career working to become the self-actualized version of yourself, don’t miss the journey. Remember that life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.

What are you doing to maintain your mindset during this chaotic time?

As someone who has loved history for his entire life, chaotic times are far from unprecedented. We and previous generations have survived and transcended much more dire circumstances than we face today—the attack on Pearl Harbor, JFK’s assassination, the 9/11 attacks, a worldwide pandemic, to name a few. Maintaining perspective, exhibiting resilience, and thinking beyond yourself will continue to provide hope and strength to ensure a better future.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic positively affected your career/business?

At HEMIC, our genuine focus on our customers’ and our employees’ well-being during Covid has built up a tremendous amount of loyalty among both, producing an even stronger organization delivering exceptional results for Hawai‘i.