CEO embraces change in spinoff from nonprofit

Dennis Teranishi, CEO of a Hawaii-based nonprofit called the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, recently explained in three aphorisms his motivation for spinning off a portion of the nonprofit.

Before we get to those, let me introduce you to Teranishi and his nonprofit. The concept for PICHTR was originally discussed by the U.S. government and the prime minister of Japan before being set up by the state Legislature in 1983. Its programs have funded defense and technology innovation in Hawaii for the past three decades, and Teranishi has been involved in some way or another since 1994, most recently serving as president and CEO for the past four years.

Last month, PICHTR spun out one of its programs, a startup accelerator called Energy Excelerator, initially founded by Maurice Kaya and Dawn Lippert in 2009 and joined by Jill Sims in 2011. Energy Excelerator is now its own nonprofit, called Elemental Excelerator.

It’s common for larger corporations and research labs to spin out companies, but less common for nonprofits. What would motivate a well-established nonprofit like PICHTR to spin out a program?

>> Be like water.

Water breaks all the rules as the only substance on Earth that exists naturally in three physical states. In its liquid state it is flexible and boundless.

When Teranishi took the helm at PICHTR in the mid-1990s, the organization was having financial difficulties. “We had to lay off highly educated people because of financial difficulty,” said Teranishi. “It’s easy to say you have to lay them off because you cannot survive, but it’s not that easy to do. I can tell you after the fact that we saved the organization, we’re still here, but at that time we were a million dollars in the hole; we couldn’t pay our bills.”

In addition to his role as CEO of PICHTR, Teranishi is also chairman of the board of the U.S. Japan Council, a nonprofit organization focused on strengthening relationships between the United States and Japan. One of its programs is the Tomodachi Initiative, of which Aki Marceau, head of Hawaii Projects Deployment at Elemental Excelerator, is an emerging leader.

>> This second aphorism is from Marceau: Even though you choose to stay stagnant, the wind will continue to blow, and the flowers will continue to grow.

Environmental impact statements are decision-­making tools required by law for anything altering the human environment in a significant way. The document lays out a number of paths for action, one of which is always “no build.”

With the “no build” option, things stay as they were. But there is still risk in choosing inaction, says Marceau. “Because time does not stop, the environment around you continues to grow, change and evolve; you have simply chosen to remain stagnant.”

>> Don’t be afraid to dance with fire.

Teranishi grew up in an area between Haleiwa and Waialua called Kaamooloa. His grandmother was three months pregnant when his family was kicked out of their plantation village for trying to organize a movement against unfair treatment by plantation owners. At a young age he experienced firsthand how doing the right thing didn’t always align with the path of least resistance.

In the spinoff of Elemental Excelerator, many questioned why Teranishi would “blow out” PICHTR’s brightest flame, which had deployed over $20 million in project funds to over 53 companies, resulting in 28 innovation projects.

But he saw the situation differently. “This reminded me of sending our 17-year-old daughters off to college,” he says. He knew there was risk in sending them off into the world alone, but at the same time he knew the timing was right. He wasn’t blowing out the flame; he was simply letting it glow on its own.

Lauren Tonokawa is head of the communications team at Energy Excelerator. She’s a graduate of the University of Hawaii. Reach her at laurentonokawa@gmail.com.