The energy, resilience and initiative to succeed

Gabrielle Richter PRESIDENT ACCEL EVENTS & TENTS

How would you introduce yourself to a stranger?

Hi, I’m Gabrielle. President of Accel Events & Tents. Momma and wife. Canadian grateful to be living and working in Hawai‘i with my family for the past six years.

In the next 10 years, what do you hope to see in your industry?

I hope Hawai‘i continues to elevate itself as a world-class event destination. The pandemic brought the event vendor ecosystem together in a way we’d never seen before. I want us to harness that newfound collaboration to strengthen our industry’s collective talent, to further attract economic activity to the islands.

What do you love most about your job? My job has taken me to every corner of the islands and allowed me to work with incredible people. Last year we serviced over 4,000 weddings, graduations, celebrations of life, and other deeply meaningful events at breathtaking venues across Hawai‘i. It’s sincerely a professional privilege to help Hawai‘i gather and celebrate.

What has been the biggest sacrifice you’ve made for your career?

I’ve always worked in hospitality and events; these are year-round operations often with peak activity over weekends. The reality is that schedule is challenging for any family life. I try to prioritize instead of the pursuit of the elusive “balance.” It works MOST of the time, but sometimes it’s frankly a flop. My family supports me and knows I genuinely love what I do. I hope that inspires them in their own career pursuits.

What has been the biggest reward?

Rebuilding our company out of COVID. While Accel is 25 years old, the repeated shut down of the event industry was deeply crippling for a company with the warehouse and fleet infrastructure we maintain. When I started at the company two years ago, we were down to 10 employees and, slowly, we’ve been able to rebuild to over 100 again. Scaling has been deeply challenging but seeing us back to full operations again today feels tremendous. I’m proud of our team for getting us there!

How have you grown and pivoted in the past five years?

I’ve spent most of my career as an event planner and a venue manager. Pivoting to a vendor position—at the height of the pandemic—was both terrifying and exhilarating. I’ve actually been a customer of my own company, so I felt I could contribute a unique client experience to its management. I hope that translates as we continue the evolution of a bespoke customer and operational experience for our clients.

How do you define success?

I define success as being in a position of financial and professional security that allows me the opportunity to give back to others and the community. It’s extremely rewarding to be able to help others, and I try to lead by example to instill the importance of charity and philanthropy in my children.

What do you hope to see in your industry in the next 10 years?

The construction industry is constantly evolving. Within the next 10 years, I’m hoping that increasingly sustainable methods and materials will be used, which will make construction more environmentally friendly. Hopefully, technological advances will also provide innovative tools, systems, and techniques which will make construction faster, safer, and more efficient.

What do you love most about your job?

Construction is very diverse and has many different components. I love the fact that I’m always learning!

Since I started working for Hawaii LECET, I have learned about building codes, different types of construction (industrial, residential, commercial, infrastructure), the various work that different construction trade unions are responsible for, safety and compliance requirements for service, maintenance and public works construction projects, etc. I have also met many wonderful people, some of whom have taken the time to mentor me and teach me important aspects of this industry.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing your industry?

At the moment, supply chain issues and rising material costs are challenges that are affecting the construction industry. Supply chain issues are a problem since some materials are not readily available. Currently, cement is in short supply which has led to rationing here in Hawai‘i. Low inventory nationwide has led to stockpiling, which increases the already high cost of construction materials. Permitting delays and rising interest rates also lead to uncertainty and increased costs.

What are some words of advice for an exit strategy?

I like this quote by Richie Norton: “Exits are great, but it’s better to do it as a choice, not a consequence of bad moda operandi.”

What do you do for fun?

I always enjoy spending time with my family and friends. When I have time to myself, I like to golf. I find it relaxing to be outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air. Since I started golfing, my ability to focus, concentrate, and attention to detail have strengthened. I also enjoy gardening. Right now, I’m trying to grow different types of miniature teacup roses.

Describe your ideal day. I’m always on the go, so my ideal day would start by sleeping in, followed by a breakfast of Cheetos and Coke and spend the rest of my day at home bingewatching Netflix.

What are some surprising lessons you learned in becoming a leader?

I never thought of myself as a leader, but I was able to grow into leadership positions by helping others. A few years ago, I joined Soroptimist International of Honolulu (SIH), a nonprofit organization that helps women and girls achieve economic empowerment through education. This year, as President-elect, I was responsible for service projects, which was new for me. I wasn’t sure if my first service project would be successful, but our school supply drive collected a record-breaking $6,000 in cash donations and supplies, which were donated to the Institute for Human Services. I have found that by helping others, I’m able to learn the necessary skills to become a leader and grow personally and professionally.

As you reflect back on your life and career, would you change anything personally or professionally?

My daughter recently asked me a similar question and I told her I wouldn’t change anything. Even though our family went through a period of hardship and adversity, it taught us resourcefulness, resilience and perseverance. All of us would not have achieved our level of success without the lessons gained from those experiences. However, if I could go back in time, I would honor my intuition. There are many instances in the past where I followed logic over my intuition and my intuition was always correct.

How do you define success?

Success is being a dynamic thought leader and role model for others and having a positive impact on the global and local communities that I am part of. Being a servant leader who strives to do good for society through my accomplishments and someone who balances work life and family life with dedication to both.

What do you hope to see in your industry in the next 10 years?

Working as a senior strategic advisor in the energy, environment, and ESG policy areas, I hope to see Hawai‘i continue to be a world leader in sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion. From our corner in the Pacific we are leading on clean energy, healthcare, and environmental policies.

We come from an indigenous Native Hawaiian host culture with deep respect for the land, people, and community. There is a very multicultural, multiethnic mix of people in our state, and that diversity brings richness. We live by the Native Hawaiian values of stewardship of land and caring for people.

Having more women leaders in key positions in business and government will make a positive difference too. Women are good strategic thinkers and effective listeners and collaborators who can accomplish strategic actions. Resilience requires being able to pivot, revise, reset, and improve actions for desired outcomes.

What do you love most about your job?

I enjoy being a problem solver who helps address challenges for an organization and works in growth industry areas with innovators and entrepreneurs. Meeting interesting people from all over the world and learning about their cultures and communities through my consultant work is also very rewarding.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing your industry?

First are climate change impacts that are not good for the environment, people, and the economic bottom line. It can disrupt supply chains, workforce, and critical infrastructure. As more activist investors influence board management, it is critical for organizations to undertake measurable actions to decarbonize operations and reduce environmental impacts to their supply chains.

The other key area is social. It is important in every sector that companies don’t just talk about aspirations—they must tangibly demonstrate diversity and equity. Today’s customers are prosumers and social media has become a powerful tool with significant impacts. Consciousness has been raised around justice and equity. It is a national issue that needs to be addressed.

What are some words of advice for an exit strategy?

If someone feels the need for a change in what they are doing professionally, then it’s good to handle such a transition as you would any other important work project. Diligently prepare and plan for it. Maximize other career opportunities with contacts in your network, analyze your career alternatives, and assess what unique skills you have that will be best utilized in the identified new endeavor.

What do you do for fun?

I am an enthusiastic ballroom dancesport competitor just like in the television show “Dancing With the Stars.” Competitive ballroom dancesport is great exercise for your body and mind and a healthy way to de-stress. I have always done dancing and love all types, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, salsa, hula, and Afro-Cuban dance.

Describe your ideal day. My ideal day is one that starts with productive accomplishment of tasks and powering through emails, meetings and conference calls for clients and organization boards that I serve on. I like to balance my day with focusing on personal health and physical well-being after work is done.

Having time to take a dance class or working out at the fitness center recharges me with positive energy in mind and spirit, and good thoughts. I then have the evening spent with family to share the highlights of our day over dinner at a favorite restaurant and relaxing at home with our pet ‘ohana.

What are some surprising lessons you learned in becoming a leader?

An unexpected lesson learned is most people are not solely driven by personal financial gain in undertaking difficult work. Often the strongest motivation for achieving good outcomes for projects that I have led is good teamwork and making people feel appreciated for their professionalism, diligence, and hard work. Also setting an example as a team leader is the most important factor in realizing optimal productivity and results.

As you reflect back on your life and career, would you change anything personally or professionally?

No. During one’s lifetime, there will be positive highlights and challenging experiences. My view is we learn from the negative experiences and mistakes made to become a stronger and better persons for having gone through them. All the things I have experienced in my career and personal life have made me who I am today.

What are two of the most important milestones of your career?

My career as a complex commercial and business litigation attorney gave me the skill sets as a leader to come into a crisis situation and turn around a critical challenge for the better. Such as when I was the first female Director of Labor for the State of Hawai‘i and addressed the deep economic recession from 1995-1998 which included plant closings, dislocation of workers in agriculture and tourism industries, and reductions in force in the public sector. We were able to leverage federal and state resources to assist dislocated workers, re-train community members for new jobs in economic growth sectors and facilitate sustainable development in new growth sectors like information technology.

As a Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commissioner, I was the only commissioner from Hawai‘i ever to serve on the Board of the National Association of Public Utility Regulatory Commissioners where I contributed at the national level on utility and regulatory policy matters. This national leadership role also involved me in global energy policy and regulatory work with international countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, and with multilateral organizations like USAID, the U.S. State Department, Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank which I continue today in my consultancy practice.

How have you grown and pivoted in the past five years?

During the last five years, I have focused on building a strong and supportive network for women through my involvement in national and local professional organizations that empower and enable women to succeed. Having accomplished many of my career goals as a woman professional over the years, I am now dedicated to being a mentor to other women just starting their careers and helping them to achieve leadership positions in business and government.