Hawaiian Airlines CEO to retire

Hawaiian Airlines CEO Mark Dunkerley didn’t quite know what he was getting himself into when he joined the state’s largest carrier nearly 15 years ago.

Three months after he arrived in December 2002, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Shortly after that, the man who hired him, CEO John Adams, was removed from office by the Bankruptcy Court due to his financial decisions.

But fast forward to 2017 and Dunkerley, who on Thursday announced he would retire on March 1, said the ride at the top has far exceeded his expectations as the airline has grown service in Asia, Oceania and on the mainland; quadrupled its full-year gross revenue to $2.64 billion; and doubled the size of the company to 6,600 employees. Hawaiian’s stock price, which traded as low as 29 cents during bankruptcy, has been as high as $60.90 over the past year.

Dunkerley, 54, said he will step down to attend to family obligations on the East Coast and in Europe and spend a few months reflecting on what he wants to do next. Chief Commercial Officer Peter Ingram, 51, who has been with the company for 12 years, will replace him.

A regular among the top paid executives in Hawaii, Dunkerley received total compensation worth $3.7 million last year, making him the fourth-highest-paid CEO at a Hawaii publicly traded company.

“It was a heart-wrenching decision,” Dunkerley said in a phone interview. “The company is dramatically different than what it was. I’ve been so lucky personally because of what the people on the front line do day in and day out. We’ve built a tremendous management team, and Peter has been absolutely a cornerstone of the management structure.”

Dunkerley said when he was hired by Hawaiian to be president and chief operating officer he knew the company had some difficulties.

“Those difficulties turned out to be more severe than initially anticipated,” he said. “But I’ve equally been surprised and delighted with the success the company has enjoyed. A lot of people are very generous and credit me (with) where the company has gone, but it’s gone to a place well beyond the expectations I had when I came here, and it’s done so because we have such a good group of people throughout the business.”

Dunkerley, who said his retirement has been in the works for the past 14 months, wanted to give Chairman Larry Hershfield and the board of directors time to plan for a successor.

“I’m going to be fully engaged until my retirement date and managing a hand­over with Peter,” Dunkerley said. “After that, I’m going to take a few months to reflect about what’s important and what I’m going to do next. That’s not code for I have something else in the works. I truly have no plans beyond March 1. I will carry with me the fondest memories of my time at Hawaiian Airlines, a lot of pride and a lot of optimism under Peter’s leadership and the entire management team that this company will succeed in the years ahead.”

Dunkerley and his wife, Marilia Duffles, have no children. But Dunkerley has a passion for flying small aircraft and intends to do more of that in his spare time.

“Having an opportunity to run a company as wonderful as Hawaiian Airlines is the greatest opportunity,” Dunkerley said. “It’s very intensive. I’m looking forward in retirement to flying my little airplanes and catching up with friends and catching up with family located elsewhere.”

Ingram, whose pay package for 2016 was $1.5 million, said he was humbled and excited to be chosen to succeed Dunkerley as CEO.

“When I came here I didn’t have any preconceived notions what this was going to be,” said Ingram, who previously worked for American Eagle Airlines and American Airlines. “I was not quite 40 years old and I had many years ahead of me in my career and aspirations of doing many things. Now that this opportunity is here and the board has shown confidence in me to take the role and succeed Mark next year, I couldn’t be more excited. I think the board’s confidence in selecting me to succeed Mark is a reflection of the continuity of the management team and the strategy that we have. We’re going to continue to develop that strategy as we have been.”

Hershfield, 61, and his company, San Diego-based Ranch Capital, rescued the airline from bankruptcy in 2004 but it wasn’t until June, 2, 2005, that Hawaiian emerged from reorganization. That’s when Dunkerley was named CEO.

“When we got involved with the company, it was so completely different,” Hershfield said. “We believed it was a good opportunity and believed it had great potential. I don’t think I could have imagined how successful it would ultimately be over the 15 years, and for that I want to recognize Mark and recognize Mark’s leadership and his team. It’s remarkable the company has grown as much as it has while still sustaining a level of service and the aloha spirit you see throughout the company and guests see when they fly with us.”