Crystal Rose, a Honolulu law firm partner, has joined an exclusive club of women chairing the board at publicly traded Hawaii companies.

Rose, 53, was named to the post today at Central Pacific Financial Corp. and subsidiary Central Pacific Bank while John Dean, the incumbent executive chairman, was appointed as president and CEO of both the holding company and the bank.

She joins Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.’s Connie Lau in prominent positions at publicly traded companies. Lau is president and CEO of HEI as well as chairwoman of both HEI’s utility subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric Co., and HEI-owned American Savings Bank.

Central Pacific, the state’s fourth-largest bank with $3.9 billion in assets, said the separation of the board chair and CEO positions is consistent with its corporate governance policy.

Dean, 63, a turnaround specialist who joined Central Pacific as chairman in March 2010 following the retirement of Ron Migita, had been handling all the top responsibilities.

Rose, a partner at Bays Lung Rose and Holma, has been a director of both Central Pacific Financial and its subsidiary since 2005 and most recently served as lead director and chair of the company’s corporate governance committee.

 At her law firm, she specializes in commercial real estate transactions, construction law, and trusts and estates.

Dean was instrumental earlier this year in directing a $325 million capital-raising program at the financially-strapped bank that brought capital ratios above levels mandated by federal and state regulators. The bank is currently completing a $20 million rights offering that is scheduled to conclude on May 6. The offering allows eligible shareholders to purchase a specified number of shares at $10 apiece.

Shares of the company edged up 5 cents today to $15.48 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Central Pacific is scheduled to report its first-quarter financial results before the market opens next Wednesday.