Following Mufi Hannemann‘s retirement, HLTA has officially launched its search for a new leader, hiring Inkinen Executive Search to run the process.
In the meantime, Dean Nakasone has stepped in as Interim Executive Director, with Ashley Yonamine serving as Interim Administrative Director.
Dean is an old friend, but I don’t think I’m going out on much of a limb by saying HLTA could not have found a more capable or respected person to help steady the organization during this transition… or perhaps longer?
With more than four decades in Hawaiʻi hospitality, Dean has held leadership roles at Halekulani, Outrigger, Aqua-Aston and HLTA itself, while also helping shape the next generation of industry leaders as a lecturer at UH’s School of Travel Industry Management.
He knows the industry, understands the personalities and politics, and has the relationships to tackle some of the strategic questions HLTA has been wrestling with for years: strengthening its advocacy role, rebuilding member engagement, and perhaps most interestingly, determining how HLTA and the Hawaiʻi Hotel Alliance (HHA) can best coexist, or potentially work more closely together in representing Hawaiʻi’s hotel industry. Remember, HHA was formed in part to fill a void in industry advocacy after many felt HLTA had stepped back from that role and its relationship with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the national hotel advocacy group.
The immediate task may be finding a new CEO. The bigger task is deciding what HLTA wants to be in the post-Mufi era.
