Liliuokalani Trust Names Successor to President and CEO

By Janis L. Magin – Real Estate Editor, Pacific Business News

The Liliuokalani Trust has named Dawn Harflinger to succeed Robert Ozaki as president and CEO of the 111-year-old trust named for Hawaii’s last queen and one of Hawaii’s largest private landowners next year after Ozaki joins the trust’s board of trustees.

Ozaki, the current president and CEO, was recently nominated by the board and appointed by the Probate Court to succeed retired Judge Patrick K.S.L. Yim as trustee; both will resign their current positions on Jan. 31, 2021.

Harflinger, who joined the trust in 2005 and was promoted to vice president and chief financial officer three years ago, will succeed Ozaki as president and CEO when he steps down next year. The trust said that, effective immediately, Harflinger will have the titles executive vice president and chief operating officer until she becomes president and CEO on Feb. 1, 2021.

Liliuokalani Trust, which has a portfolio of some 6,400 acres of land in Hawaii, last year sold two Waikiki ground leases — the land beneath the Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach and the land beneath the Hilton Waikiki Beach hotel — for a total of $273 million to support a strategy to reposition its assets to support the expansion of its programs for Native Hawaiian children in poverty. The trust is also planning to develop more than a third of its 3,400-acre Keahuolu lands on Hawaii Island into a mixed-use, mixed-income community just north of Kailua-Kona.

“Given the critical decade LT is facing, with major program expansion, the 1,200-acre Keahuolu development on the Big Island, and our growing portfolio of investments, we were seeking leaders with expertise in these areas,” Claire Asam, chair, of the Liliuokalani Trust board of trustees, said in a statement. “Mr. Ozaki has successfully orchestrated the transformation of LT in both financial and program areas through a culture of innovation and excellence, positioning LT to achieve significant outcomes and transform the lives of our most vulnerable Hawaiian children.”

Ozaki joined the trust in 2002 after holding executive positions at The Queen’s Health Systems and at Amfac Inc.

Harflinger joined Liliuokalani Trust in 2005 and worked with overseeing budgets, accounting and financial reporting for charitable activities and added property management and investment management duties before being promoted to CFO in 2017.

“Since joining LT in February 2005, Dawn Harflinger has progressed swiftly through the ranks and is a key member of our executive team,” Asam said. “She brings a strong background in social service programs, investment, administration and finance; and, has been a key contributor strategically and operationally.”

Yim, who retired from the Judiciary in 1994, was appointed a trustee in August 2002.

“During Judge Yim’s tenure as trustee, he has been a strong advocate for impactful programs which transform the lives of youth for the long term, and for strengthening evaluation, technology, and organizational development,” Asam said. “We are grateful for his dedication in building organizational capability to thrive in a fast-changing world.”