Board of Directors
Board of Directors
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Christopher J. Benjamin
Director
President & Chief Executive Officer Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.Chris Benjamin is president and chief executive officer of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. An accomplished executive with extensive business and management experience, Benjamin also has a long track-record of volunteering with and providing leadership to non-profit organizations that support Hawaii’s community.
Prior to his appointment on Jan. 1, 2016, Benjamin served as A&B’s president and chief operating officer since September 2011. In this role, Benjamin oversaw the Company’s real estate and agribusiness subsidiaries. Before becoming president and COO, Benjamin was A&B’s chief financial officer from February 2004 through September 2011. From March 2009 through March 2011, Benjamin additionally served as general manager of Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, overseeing the operations and finances of that business.
Benjamin joined A&B in 2001 as director of corporate development and planning, and was promoted to vice president in 2003.
Prior to joining A&B, Benjamin held positions with General Motors Corporation, Sony Corporation, Booz – Allen & Hamilton and The Queen’s Health Systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
A dedicated supporter of community organizations, Benjamin currently serves as the chair of Hale Kipa’s Capital Cabinet and sits on the boards of many groups, including: Catholic Charities of Hawaii; Aloha United Way; the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii’s Ihupani Council; Hawaii Agricultural Research Center; University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business Advisory Board; CFA Society Hawaii; and the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. -
Eric Yeaman
Chairman of the Board
Founder and Managing Partner
Hoku Capital LLCEric Yeaman is chairman of Alexander & Baldwin, as of October 1, 2020. He has served as an independent director since 2012.
Yeaman is managing partner of Hoku Capital LLC. From June 2015 to August 2019, he served as president and chief operating officer of First Hawaiian, Inc., as well as First Hawaiian Bank, the state’s largest bank. Yeaman also served as chief executive officer of Hawaiian Telcom, the state’s leading communications provider from 2008-2015. Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom, Yeaman was the senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO), and financial vice president and chief financial officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries, HECO’s parent company. From 2000 to 2003, he was the chief operating and financial officer for Kamehameha Schools.
Yeaman serves on the publicly traded company board of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) as well as the nonprofit boards of the Queen’s Health Systems (currently as Chairman of the Board), Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and Hawaii Community Foundation.
Yeaman earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is a certified public accountant (not in public practice) in the State of Hawaii.
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Chair
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Diana Laing
Director
Chief Financial Officer
American Homes 4 Rent
(Retired)Diana Laing’s career has included CFO roles at several real estate operating companies and REITs. She most recently served as chief financial officer at American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH), a publicly traded REIT that owns and rents more than 50,000 single-family homes across the US mainland. She also served as CFO and held other finance positions at Thomas Properties Group, Inc., New Pacific Realty Corporation, Firstsource Corp., Arden Realty, Inc., and Southwest Property Trust, Inc. Laing also served as interim chief financial officer of Alexander & Baldwin from November 2018 to May 2019.
Laing earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Oklahoma State University and is still active with the university, serving as a trustee of the Oklahoma State University Foundation and as chair of the Dean’s Council for the Spears School of Business. Laing is a certified public accountant.
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Member
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John Leong
Director
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Kupu
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Pono Pacific Land Management, LLCJohn Leong is CEO of Kupu, a non-profit organization he co-founded in 2007. Kupu provides service-learning programs in conservation and sustainability to empower youth, restore communities and build a more sustainable future for Hawaii. Kupu’s efforts have led to the creation of hundreds of internships and service-learning opportunities annually which blend vocational training and green leadership development to support more than 100 partner organizations across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region.
Leong also is CEO and co-founder of Pono Pacific, LLC, a natural resource management company that aids conservation agencies and landowners in their efforts to preserve, protect, and restore Hawai’iʻs precious ecosystems. Pono Pacific also provides ecosystem services that are leading Hawaii into a more resilient future such as through sustainable agriculture and carbon sequestration through reforestation. The work Leong's organizations have done has produced hundreds of millions of dollars in socio-environmental impact for Hawaii and beyond.
He serves on the boards of City and County of Honolulu Resilience Strategy Steering Committee, YMCA, Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs and Island Insurance Company. Leong is a recognized community leader and was selected to be an Obama Foundation Fellow in 2019 and an Omidyar Fellow in 2015.
Leong earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental management & policy and entrepreneurial management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Thomas Lewis
Director
Chief Executive Officer
Realty Income Corporation
(Retired)Tom Lewis is retired chief executive officer of Realty Income Corporation, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is specializes in providing shareholders with dependable monthly income from the cash flow from real estate properties owned. He joined Realty Income in 1987 and held a number of executive positions before serving as CEO from 1997 until his retirement in 2013. Lewis took Realty Income public in the 90s and guided its growth into a $15 billion REIT.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Chaminade University.-
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Douglas Pasquale
- Lead Independent Director
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Capstone Enterprises Corporation
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Nationwide Health Properties, Inc.
(Retired)Doug Pasquale is founder and chief executive officer of Capstone Enterprises Corporation. From 2009 until July 2011, he served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. (NHP), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) investing in senior housing facilities, long-term care facilities and medical office buildings throughout the United States. Pasquale was appointed chairman of NHP in May 2009 and also served as president and chief executive officer since 2004. NHP was acquired by Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) in July 2011. Pasquale served as a director of Ventas from 2011 until April 2017.
Pasquale has been a director of the Alexander & Baldwin board since 2005, and is also a member of the board of trustees of the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.
Pasquale received a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado.-
Chair
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Michele Saito
Director
Michele Saito was president and a director of DTRIC Insurance Company from March 2014 through May 2021. Prior, Saito was president and a director of Farmers Insurance Hawaii, where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Farmers Insurance Hawaii family of companies, including oversight of over 300 employees statewide. She has over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry.
Saito also serves on the boards of Hawaii Pacific University, the University of Hawaii Alumni Association, Aloha United Way, Child and Family Services, and numerous other community organizations.
Saito earned a bachelor of business administration in accounting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is a certified public accountant (not in public practice) in the State of Hawaii.-
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