Hotel Online  Special Report
.

advertisement


..
Donna Leong and Ruthann Yamanaka Appointed to Senior Vice President
Positions with Outrigger Enterprises Inc. 
.
May 17, 2006 - HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII -- Two new senior-level executives have been named at Outrigger Enterprises Inc. Donna Leong has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer and assumed her position on May 15. Ruthann Yamanaka has been appointed Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Planning and will be joining the company effective May 29. Both Leong and Yamanaka will report directly to the company's President and CEO, David Carey.

"We are proud to have two women executives of such high caliber and reputations join our team," said Carey. "This is an exciting time for Outrigger as we enter a new, dynamic era for the company. Both Ruthann and Donna bring the expertise and skills we need to help us position Outrigger for continued growth and expansion," said Carey. 

As Outrigger's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Donna Leong will oversee all of the company's legal affairs. Leong comes to Outrigger from the law firm of Cades Schutte LLLP where she was a partner in the Finance and Real Estate Department. Leong has extensive expertise in hospitality law, real estate transactions and development, land use and zoning, and real property tax appeals. She was also chair of the firm's Land Use, Zoning and Entitlements Group and co-chair of the Hospitality and Resort Property Group. Additionally, she spent time as a member of the firm's Management and Recruiting committees.  Previously, Leong worked as a Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City and County of Honolulu, representing the Department of Planning and Permitting, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the former Department of Housing and Community Development. Before going to work for the City and County of Honolulu, Leong was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Seattle. 

Leong is admitted to practice before all Hawaii state courts and the United States District Court of Hawaii. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Hawaii State Bar Association and Hawaii Women Lawyers. Leong was born and raised in Honolulu, graduating from Punahou. She obtained her bachelor's degree from Stanford University and her law degree from the University of Washington. 

"In her capacity as senior partner at Cades Schutte, Donna has been our primary attorney in many of Outrigger's recent business matters. She has become familiar with our company and our values. Donna will be a great asset as she provides counsel for our hospitality business and our continued growth," said Carey. 

Ruthann Yamanaka will lead Outrigger's Human Resources department, which serves over 3,000 Outrigger employees system-wide. In her new role as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Planning, Yamanaka will spearhead the company's ongoing efforts in employee training and education, as well as in enhancing employee satisfaction. 

Prior to joining Outrigger, Yamanaka was the Vice President of Human Resources at Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of the People Services Group for Hawaiian Airlines. Yamanaka also spent 16 years with Bank of Hawaii, where she worked her way up to Senior Vice President and Assistant Director of Human Resources during her final three years with the company. Her background also includes five years in health care with the Waimanalo Children & Youth Program and Headstart.

Yamanaka's career reflects a deep commitment to the local community. She was chair of the board of the Girl Scout Council of Hawaii, and is a past president of both the Junior League of Honolulu and the Guild for Child & Family Services.

Yamanaka earned her master's degree in Public Health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Southern California. 

"We want to continue to make Outrigger the employer of choice. Ruthann has a deep and solid expertise in the human resources field, and we are fortunate she is joining our team. She is a caring leader who will nurture our values and our tradition of Ke 'Ano Wa'a, the Outrigger Way; and she will undoubtedly do a superb job in continuing the HR team's commitment to offering an environment that allows each employee to be his or her best," said Carey.

About Outrigger Enterprises, Inc.

Outrigger Enterprises, Inc. is one of the largest and fastest-growing hospitality services companies in the Pacific. Outrigger is a family-owned company with nearly 60 years of hospitality experience and runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, OHANA Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection, Outrigger Resort Club by Fairfield and Embassy Suites Hotel-Waikiki Beach Walk.* Outrigger currently operates over 50 properties representing more than 12,000 guest rooms in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti and Guam.

Outrigger Enterprises also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. The company's most recent initiative - Waikiki Beach Walk, a $460 million, 8-acre hotel-retail-entertainment complex - is the largest development in the history of Waikiki, and is set to open in December 2006.

.
Contact: 

Nancy Daniels, APR
Public Relations Manager
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts / OHANA Hotels & Resorts
2375 Kuhio Avenue
Honolulu HI 96815-2992
PH 808-921-6839
FX 808-921-6901
EM [email protected]
www.outrigger.com

.
Also See: Perry Sorenson Retiring After 15 Years as EVP and COO of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts; Barry Wallace Promoted to EVP of Hospitality Services / December 2005
Outrigger's Condominium Collection Appoints Key Executives; Charles Okazaki Named General Manager of the Outrigger Kanaloa at Kona / June 2005

.


To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search

Home | Welcome! | Hospitality News | Classifieds | Catalogs & Pricing | Viewpoint Forum | Ideas/Trends
Please contact Hotel.Online with your comments and suggestions.