Attorney Linda Chu Takayama has been appointed to lead the city Office of Economic Development.
She will be joined by Peter Tomozawa, who was appointed as executive director of Business Development; and Minnie Ko, executive director of international affairs. The appointments by Mayor Kirk Caldwell were announced Friday.
As executive director of the Economic Development office, Takayama will be responsible for cultivating tourism and hospitality, agriculture, film and other industries; advancing small businesses; strengthening relationships with state, military, federal and international partners; and coordinating cultural and community festivals and special events, according to a news release from the city.
She has served as deputy director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, was Hawaii insurance commissioner and is former chief of staff for the U.S. Senate sergeant at arms. She is chairwoman of the Hawaii Foodbank and is on the board of the Hawaii Health Information Corp. and Zephyr Insurance Co.
She was a director for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle and the East-West Center.
Takayama graduated from the University of Hawaii and earned her law degree from George Mason University School of Law in Virginia.
Tomozawa will spearhead entrepreneurial projects, projects related to transit-enhanced neighborhoods, and economic development projects to stimulate business activity within the city, a news release said.
Tomozawa retired in 2010 from Goldman Sachs & Co. after a 17-year career in which he was named a managing director in 2000 and a partner in 2006.
Tomozawa is a member of the state Charter School Commission, the Nature Conservancy board and the ‘Iolani School board, and is chairman of the state’s American Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Committee. His master’s in business administration in finance is from the University of Pennsylvania, and he has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.
In the role of executive director of international affairs, Ko will continue her focus on affiliations between Honolulu and foreign cities. She leads Honolulu’s sister-city relationships and coordinates high-level meetings between Caldwell and foreign dignitaries.
Ko graduated from UH and holds a master’s degree in international relations from Sogang University in Seoul.
Also on the economic development team are agriculture liaison Po-Yung Lai and Honolulu Film Commissioner Walea Constantinau.
