Kelvin Taketa to step down as CEO of Hawaii Community Foundation TINA YUEN PBN Feb 15, 2017, 5:52pm HST Updated Feb 16, 2017, 7:23am HST
Kelvin Taketa, who has led the Hawaii Community Foundation for nearly 20 years, said Wednesday that he will step down as soon as the board names a new CEO. Taketa has been CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation since joining the organization in 1998 and was also president until a year ago, when Micah Kane was named president and chief operating officer. Under his leadership, the state's largest nonprofit investor has grown to oversee more than 750 charitable funds in Hawaii, including the largest single gift from a living donor, a sixyear $50 million gift from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam Omidyar. Taketa also been recognized on a national level as one of the most powerful and influential people in the national nonprofit sector. He is also a member of the Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE) board of directors. “It has been an incredible honor for me to lead HCF for nearly two decades. I am deeply grateful for the confidence that the board has placed in me as well as for the amazing donors and colleagues I have had the privilege to work with over the years,” Taketa said in a statement. “I have loved every minute of it but I believe that institutions like ours need fresh leadership from time to time and it’s a great time for this transition as we celebrate the centennial anniversary of our founding and begin our second century of work.” The Hawaii Community Foundation’s Board of Governors has launched a search committee and hired Inkinen & Associates to begin the process of finding Taketa’s successor. Taketa will remain as a part-time senior fellow under the new CEO. HCF distributed $45 million to the Hawaii community, including $4.5 million in scholarships to 1,350 students in 2015, the most recent figures available.