Benjamin named A&B chief; Kuriyama to remain as chair

The chief executive of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. who helped dramatically build up the company after a historic spinoff of its shipping subsidiary Matson Navigation Co. is ending his six-year run leading the Hawaii real estate investment and development firm.

Stan Kuriyama, 61, will retire as CEO at the end of the year, A&B’s board announced Tuesday.

Replacing Kuriyama will be A&B’s president and No. 2 executive, Chris Benjamin, as of Jan. 1.

Benjamin, 52, has been with A&B for 14 years, including the last four as president and chief operating officer.

A&B’s two top executives earned $2.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in company compensation last year.

Kuriyama will continue to serve as board chairman of Honolulu-based A&B, which is the fourth-largest private landowner in the state and owns about 88,000 acres of land, major shopping centers, residential development projects, Maui sugar plantation Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and most of the commercial property in Kailua.

Charles G. King, A&B’s lead independent board member, extended deep gratitude and appreciation to Kuriyama on behalf of the board.

“In the years that Stan has been at the helm, he conceived a new path forward for A&B and shepherded it though transformational changes, making it a stronger, more focused company,” King said in a written statement.

Kuriyama joined A&B in 1992 after leaving a position as a partner at local law firm Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright specializing in real estate and real estate financing. He became company president in 2008 and CEO in 2010.

In 2012 A&B became a considerably smaller company after Matson, Hawaii’s biggest ocean cargo carrier, was spun off into a separate company. In response, A&B under Kuriyama’s leadership moved to sell much of its mainland commercial real estate portfolio and reinvest proceeds in Hawaii property.

Major Hawaii real estate acquisitions by A&B in the last three years have totaled $1.2 billion, and include Pearl Highlands Center, most of Kailua’s commercial core and 30 residential properties on Kahala Avenue acquired from eccentric Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto.

A&B also bought local paving contractor Grace Pacific in 2013 and has been active in condominium tower development in Kakaako with projects such as Waihonua at Kewalo and The Collection.

A&B said it is now 70 percent bigger than it was at the time it separated from Matson, with $2.4 billion in assets.

Kuriyama said in a statement that Benjamin played a significant role in expanding Hawaii real estate investments and development projects, and that he and the board have confidence that Benjamin will lead A&B well.

“I am pleased to entrust the day-to-day management and leadership of the company to Chris, who brings to the CEO position a broad skill set and breadth of experience, as well as a deep commitment to our community,” Kuriyama said.

Benjamin will give up one title at A&B as part of the leadership change, turning over the position of president of real estate subsidiary A&B Properties Inc. to Lance Parker, the company’s senior vice president of acquisitions and dispositions.

Parker, 41, joined A&B in 2004 and will assume his new role effective Sept. 1.