Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association
Statewide leadership for the voice of Hawai‘i’s lodging and tourism industry — hospitality-sector gravitas with island-wide relationships.
Hawaii’s Premier Executive Search Firm Since 1992
Locally Rooted, Globally Connected.
Your trusted partner in finding Hawai‘i’s next generation of leaders.
Inkinen Executive Search — also known as Inkinen & Associates LLC, DBA Inkinen Executive Search — is a leading executive search firm based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Established in 1992, the firm specializes in recruiting top-tier leadership talent across healthcare, technology, finance and education, focusing on executive and senior-level placements and leveraging global reach to source candidates from the mainland U.S., Asia and beyond. With a proprietary candidate database, advanced search technology, deep understanding of Hawai‘i’s business culture, BBB accreditation and a commitment to excellence backed by a placement guarantee, Inkinen remains a trusted partner for organizations seeking to strengthen their leadership teams — with consultants carrying over 100 years of combined experience, locally and globally.
◆ BBB Accredited Better Business Bureau
◆ Placement Guarantee
◆ Gold Standard Since 1992
Confidential
UPDATING
Live Search Ledger
Active mandates · anonymized pipeline- 01Hawai‘i Business RoundtableExecutive DirectorSOURCING
- 02Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Assoc.Executive DirectorSHORTLIST
- 03West Oahu Aggregate & PineridgeChief Executive OfficerLISTENING
- 04YWCA O‘ahuChief Executive OfficerOFFER
- 05Ohana Pacific HealthChief People OfficerSOURCING
- 06Noguchi & AssociatesExecutive Vice PresidentLISTENING
1992Founded
17Employees · Apollo
100+Yrs Combined
5Consultants
WE’VE RELOCATED → 828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 130, Honolulu, HI 96813
1992Founded · Honolulu, HI — the gold standard since
17Employees — Apollo · PitchBook
100+ yrsCombined consultant experience, local & global
5Executive search consultants on staff — Yelp · SHRM
$6.7MRevenue — Apollo (RocketReach est. $15M)
BBBAccredited — Better Business Bureau
Subsidiary of Huliau Capital LLC (per Apollo) · Inkinen & Associates LLC, DBA Inkinen Executive Search · 1003 Bishop St + 828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 130 · (808) 521-2331
Founded 1992 · Honolulu, HI
Hawaii’s Premier Executive Search Firm Since 1992
Locally Rooted · Globally Connected
1003 Bishop St + 828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 130 · Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 521-2331
17 employees · 5 consultants · 100+ years combined experience
$6.7M revenue (Apollo) · Subsidiary of Huliau Capital LLC
Top-tier leadership talent — healthcare · technology · finance · education
Executive & senior-level placements — mainland U.S. · Asia · beyond
Leadership talent acquisition · HR consulting · career transition services
Proprietary candidate database · advanced search technology
Deep understanding of Hawai‘i’s business culture · BBB accredited
Commitment to excellence · placement guarantee
Your trusted partner in finding Hawai‘i’s next generation of leaders
Process starts with listening — vision · strategic goals · corporate culture
Industry expertise — business · hospitality · healthcare · education — for-profit & nonprofit
Featured — HLTA Exec. Director · Hawai‘i Business Roundtable Exec. Director · West Oahu Aggregate CEO · YWCA O‘ahu CEO · Ohana Pacific Health CPO · Noguchi & Associates EVP
Career Transition Services — 6-month program · personalized coaching · executive mock interviews · negotiation coaching
Gold standard of executive search in Hawai‘i since 1992
Qualified candidates across town — and around the world
01 — The Stakes
A vacant leadership seat in Hawai‘i is not a hiring problem. It is a business-culture and relationships problem.
Since 1992, Inkinen has understood that island leadership runs on complex, visible and invisible networks of relationships. When a seat sits empty, it is those networks — not the org chart — that begin to fail.
The Culture Gap
A mainland hire who has never navigated Hawai‘i’s rich business culture and history inherits the title but not the trust. The complex, visible and invisible networks of relationships that connect people across the islands take years to build — and cannot be onboarded in a quarter.
Signal — first six months at riskThe Relationship Loss
An executive vacancy severs the visible and invisible networks that connect people — across town and around the world. Every week the seat stays empty, partners, donors, regulators and clients take their calls elsewhere.
Signal — networks cool within weeksThe Transition Risk
When employees are affected by position eliminations, how an organization handles the transition becomes its reputation. Structured outplacement and career transition services help impacted employees build their futures — and protect the employer brand that your next leader will inherit.
Signal — morale & brand exposureThe Generalist Mismatch
A generalist agency that works a Hawai‘i requisition occasionally is not the firm that has been the gold standard of executive search in Hawai‘i since 1992 — locally rooted, globally connected, with the largest and most experienced team of executive search consultants in the islands.
Signal — occasional vs. home turf
02 — The Method
Our process starts with listening.
Your vision, strategic goals and unique corporate culture are paramount to a lasting placement. Once we have gained a complete understanding of your organization, we get to work.
What We Do
Executive Search for Companies
Finding the best talent for an executive management position requires more than résumés and interviews. Our team of executive search consultants employs a wide range of proprietary resources to recruit proven leaders who fit into your organization’s unique corporate culture and possess the requisite experience and skills.
“Since 1992, Inkinen has been the gold standard of executive search in Hawai‘i — the largest and most experienced team of executive search consultants, an unparalleled database of candidates, and access to world-class technology tools to find qualified candidates across town and around the world.”Explore the Intelligence Desk →
Partner With Us
A mandate built on trust
Leadership talent acquisition, human resources consulting and career transition services — delivered by consultants with over 100 years of combined experience locally and globally, across business, hospitality, healthcare and education, within for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Start a confidential conversation →
Meet Our Team
Five consultants. One hundred years.
Our staff of five consultants is able to define and understand positions from the employer’s point of view, filling vacancies with the firm’s best interest in mind — and effectively supporting clients in human resources matters.
Get to know the expert consultants →STEP 01
Listen
Vision, strategic goals and unique corporate culture — paramount to a lasting placement.
STEP 02
Map
Proprietary candidate database and advanced search technology ensure effective candidate matching.
STEP 03
Source
Confidential outreach leveraging global reach — mainland U.S., Asia and beyond.
STEP 04
Shortlist
Interviews, screening and culture-fit diligence against your organization’s invisible networks.
STEP 05
Place & Support
Offer assistance, implementation support and a placement guarantee backed by BBB accreditation.
Proprietary Candidate Database
Advanced Search Technology
BBB Accreditation
Placement Guarantee
Mainland U.S. · Asia · Beyond
For-Profit & Nonprofit
HR Consulting
Career Transition Services
Career Transition Services
Helping our corporate clients’ people build their futures.
It’s important to provide professional assistance to employees separating from a company — it made all the difference in the world to many of them.
— Hospitality Industry Executive, Inkinen client
Inkinen is a trusted partner for organizations navigating workforce transitions, offering tailored outplacement and career transition services. When a client’s employees are affected by position eliminations, our outplacement services guide each employee through the transition — one-on-one consultations including professional résumé preparation, interview presentation-skills coaching and career guidance. Programs provide a structured, flexible approach, equipping individuals with the skills, tools and confidence to succeed in today’s competitive job market.
- The 6-Month ProgramSenior-level · one-on-one
- ✓Weekly fully personalized coaching — virtual or in-person, tailored to each professional.
- ✓Comprehensive personality & leadership assessments to anchor the transition in evidence.
- ✓Advanced career diagnostics aligned to long-term goals.
- ✓Full résumé, LinkedIn & executive bio development for the senior market.
- ✓Executive mock interviews tailored to high-stakes roles.
- ✓Advanced salary & contract negotiation coaching — including equity discussions.
- ✓Leadership development plans for transitioning executive roles.
- ✓Exclusive templates & resources designed for senior-level professionals.
03 — Instruments
The Island Leadership Intelligence Desk.
Four working instruments, one desk. Quantify what an empty seat truly costs in the islands, compare search models, score candidate fit against island culture, and browse the mapped talent pool — locally rooted, globally connected.
Executive Vacancy Cost Calculator
Instrument 01 · Lost relationships + culture gap + transition riskMETHOD — Lost relationships = daily relationship value × days vacant. Culture-gap cost = days × $1,000 (Hawai‘i business-culture acclimation drag). Transition risk = days × $500 (impact on employees navigating workforce transitions). Weekly burn at $10K/day ≈ $25K+ per week once culture gap and transition risk are included. All figures are an illustrative planning model, not audited Inkinen data.
Estimated total cost of vacancy
$517,500
Lost relationships$450,000
Business-culture gap$45,000
Transition risk$22,500
Relationship burn per week$70,000 / wk
Time-to-Fill Simulator
Instrument 02 · Days saved × relationship valueMETHOD — National average for DIY executive searches in island markets: 90–120 days; generalist agencies: 60–90 days. Inkinen’s retained model draws on deep understanding of Hawai‘i’s rich business culture and history, complex visible and invisible networks, the largest and most experienced consultant team, an unparalleled database and world-class technology tools. Inkinen range shown is an illustrative estimate; days saved = DIY midpoint − model midpoint.
Modeled time-to-fill
52 DAYS
Days saved vs. DIY53 days
Relationship value preserved$530,000
Candidate Fit Score
Instrument 03 · Fit into your unique corporate cultureMETHOD — Modeled on the firm’s mandate discipline: recruit proven leaders who fit the organization’s unique corporate culture and possess the requisite experience and skills — with “the right aloha spirit, understanding both local and global needs.” Overall = mean of five dimensions. Shortlist threshold: ≥ 80. Screening inputs are illustrative.
84Overall fit / 100
proprietary matching model
proprietary matching model
◆ Shortlist Ready
Hawai‘i Talent Map
Instrument 04 · Mapped pool — locally rooted, globally connected240Leaders in sample view
80%Passive — proprietary database
1992→Tracked since founding
Placement Tracker — recent archive entries
METHOD — Sample of 240 synthetic leader profiles generated to mirror the firm’s described reach — thousands of leaders across the proprietary candidate database, mainland U.S., Asia and beyond, ~80% passive. X-axis: modeled weeks to engage. Y-axis: role complexity. Dot size: organization scale. Synthetic illustration — not real candidates.
04 — Featured Opportunities
Confidential mandates, across the islands.
A snapshot from the live search ledger — executive and senior-level mandates across business, hospitality, healthcare, education and the nonprofit sector.
Hawai‘i Business Roundtable
A convening leader for Hawai‘i’s senior business community — vision, policy fluency and the invisible networks that connect people.
West Oahu Aggregate & Pineridge Farms
Dual-mandate chief executive across aggregate operations and diversified agriculture — an operator rooted in West O‘ahu’s growth corridor.
YWCA O‘ahu
Mission chief executive for one of O‘ahu’s most trusted nonprofit institutions — community impact, fundraising and advocacy leadership.
Ohana Pacific Health
People leadership for a growing Hawai‘i healthcare organization — culture, talent and workforce-transition expertise in one seat.
Noguchi & Associates
Second-in-command for a respected island professional-services firm — client relationships, delivery leadership and succession depth.
◆ Opportunity statuses shown are illustrative at preview date — refer to inkinen.com for live postings. Descriptions are concept-preview copy.
High level of experience and professionalism. Immaculate organization, flexible thinking, willing to adjust to support the needs of the organization. Patient, good listeners, thorough communication — an amazing team with the right aloha spirit, understanding both local and global needs.
— Client testimonial · inkinen.com/testimonials
05 — Evidence
The Placement Archive, 1992 → today.
Top-tier leadership talent placed across healthcare, technology, finance, education, business and hospitality — for-profit and nonprofit, from Honolulu to the mainland U.S. and Asia-Pacific.
Showing 20 of 48 sample entries
| Location | Client type |
|---|
Page 1 of 3
◆ SYNTHETIC SAMPLE — illustrative archive entries patterned on the firm’s described practice since 1992. Client names anonymized; not a record of actual placements. Methodology: tracked 1992–2026; every completed search includes post-placement implementation support, the placement guarantee and BBB-accredited process discipline.
06 — The Team
Five consultants. Over 100 years combined experience — locally and globally.
17 employees firm-wide (Apollo · PitchBook) with a staff of five executive search consultants (Yelp · SHRM) — industry expertise ranging from business and hospitality to healthcare and education, within for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Honolulu HQ: 1003 Bishop St + 828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 130 · (808) 521-2331.
Kathryn Inkinen
Founder & Advisor · President & Owner
Created the firm in 1992 and continues to build a successful executive search and HR consulting practice. Her professional foundation is an extensive background in human resources management, having held top HR positions for City Bank and the Kahala Hilton (pace.shidler.hawaii.edu). Expertise: Human Resources Management. Also listed as “Kathy I.”, Business Owner — International Executive Search & Human Resources Consulting (Yelp).
City Bank · Kahala Hilton HR Management✉ kinkinen@inkinen.com Verified · Apollo
Benjamin Ancheta
President
Leads the firm’s client engagements and search mandates. Listed as President with the Better Business Bureau and as a tenured president-level lead on Apollo.
Tenured · Apollo BBB ListedCheryl C.
Executive Search Consultant
Defines and understands positions from the employer’s point of view — sourcing proven leaders who fit each organization’s unique corporate culture.
Search ConsultantMartha O.
Executive Search Consultant
Recruits across the proprietary candidate database and advanced search technology — matching top-tier leadership talent to island and global mandates.
Search ConsultantMelody F.
Executive Search Consultant · Tenured
Deep bench experience across executive and senior-level placements, leveraging the firm’s global reach — mainland U.S., Asia and beyond.
Tenured · Apollo Search ConsultantDoug H.
Executive Search Consultant
Fills vacancies with the firm’s best interest in mind and effectively supports clients in broader human resources matters.
Search Consultant HR SupportCheryl Cross
Career Transition Practice — Lead Bio
After graduating from the National School of Broadcasting, Cheryl was a Las Vegas radio broadcaster, music director at Geffen Records and handled media relations for Mesa/BlueMoon Recordings. As a competitive-intelligence researcher and business analyst in financial services, she joined CRI (now Manpower) in 2002, where she quickly advanced to the executive team — placing C-suite executives for Fortune 10 clients including General Electric and KB Home. In 2005 she founded her own communications-recruitment outsourcing company serving a diverse range of California businesses.
Geffen Records CRI / Manpower Fortune 10 PlacementsSources — pace.shidler.hawaii.edu (Kathryn Inkinen profile) · BBB (Benjamin Ancheta, President; 11 employees; 828 Fort Street Mall Ste 130, 96813-4314) · Apollo (17 employees; suggested tenured leads) · PitchBook (17 employees) · Prospeo (11–20) · RocketReach (14–16 employees) · Yelp & SHRM vendor directory (staff of 5 consultants; est. 1992) · inkinen.com/career-transition (Cheryl Cross bio). Employee counts vary by source and date; verified figures shown as published.
07 — Terms of Engagement
What a retained mandate actually covers.
A commitment to excellence with a placement guarantee — a trusted partnership for organizations seeking to enhance their leadership teams.
Every retained search includes
- ✓Listening mandate — vision, strategic goals and unique corporate culture first; paramount to a lasting placement.
- ✓Proprietary candidate database + advanced search technology for effective candidate matching.
- ✓Confidential outreach, interviews & screening across the complex, visible and invisible networks that connect people.
- ✓Calibrated shortlist — proven leaders who fit the culture and possess the requisite experience and skills.
- ✓Offer & negotiation assistance through acceptance.
- ✓Implementation support after the placement lands.
- ✓Placement guarantee backed by Better Business Bureau accreditation.
- ✓Career transition services — the 6-Month Program for organizations navigating workforce transitions.
| Dimension | DIY Hiring | Generalist Agency | Inkinen Executive Search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guarantee | None | 30 days typical | Placement guarantee + BBB accreditation |
| Time-to-fill | 90–120 days | 60–90 days | Accelerated — gold standard since 1992: deep local networks, unparalleled database, world-class tools |
| Confidentiality | Varies | Often low | Enforced — listening first; vision, goals and culture before any outreach |
| Hawai‘i discernment | Committee only | Occasional island req | Hawai‘i’s Premier Executive Search Firm since 1992 — locally rooted, globally connected |
| Candidate pool | Whoever applies | Active résumés only | Proprietary database + advanced search technology — mainland U.S., Asia & beyond; ~80% passive leaders |
| Cost model | Upfront + your team’s time | Upfront + fee | Retained partnership — a trusted partner, not a vendor |
08 — Contact
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell us about the seat, the stakes and the culture. Every inquiry is treated under confidential protocol.
◆ Received ◆
Logged under confidential protocol.
Your mandate review request has been recorded in the ledger. The listening starts here — vision, strategic goals and culture before anything else.
REF: IES-2026-0000