Promotions and career moves by the people you know — and those you should
Polk
Bank of Hawaii announced various promotions in Honolulu. James C. Polk is promoted to chief banking officer. He was formerly vice chairman, and previously senior executive vice president and manager for the Consumer Banking Group.
Polk will continue to oversee commercial banking, in addition to his current responsibilities for the bank’s Trust Services Group, Cash Management, Merchant Services and Corporate Facilities, and is a member of the bank’s executive committee.
Polk served in Guam as executive vice president and manager of the Pacific Islands Division of the Bank of Hawaii from 2006 until 2009.
He has 32 years of experience in the financial services industry and more than 20 years at Bank of Hawaii, Polk has held a variety of other leadership roles since his departure from Guam.
He serves on the board of directors of the Hawaii Medical Service Association and After-School All-Stars Hawaii and is a trustee for Hawaii Pacific University.
Polk holds a 1988 bachelor’s in economics from the University of Michigan and is a 1999 graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., as well as a 2011 graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
Guy C. Churchill and Dirk K. Yoshizawa have both been promoted to senior executive vice presidents and co-lead executives of Bank of Hawaii’s Commercial Banking Group. Bank of Hawaii also announced the retirement of Vice Chairman and Chief Commercial Officer Wayne Y. Hamano.
Untalan
First Hawaiian Bank has promoted Edward G. Untalan to executive vice president and retail banking region manager for the Guam and Northern Mariana Islands region.
He is the first individual to hold the title of executive vice president at First Hawaiian Bank in the Mariana Islands.
Untalan previously was senior vice president and Guam and NMI region manager. He joined the bank in 2004 and has more than 34 years of banking and finance experience. He is a former administrator of the Guam Economic Development Authority.
Among his qualifications, Untalan holds a 1984 bachelor’s of science, and a 1986 master’s of business administration, both from Manhattan College.
Untalan was re-elected to the board of directors of the Guam Chamber of Commerce of which he was vice chairman in 2021, is the chairman of the Cathedral Basilica Finance Council, and the president of the Guam Bankers Association. He has also served on the St. Anthony Parish Finance Council, on the board of directors of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam, on the board of trustees of Guam Community College, on the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Administrative Counsel, and the board of directors of the Hurao Academy.
Madrazo
Bank of Guam announced the following promotions: Symon A. Madrazo to senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was previously vice president and controller and has been with the bank since 2001. Madrazo holds a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Guam, and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash. He also studied finance and accounting at the University of Wisconsin and the University of South Carolina.
Among other recognitions, Madrazo has been named a Patriotic Employer by the Employers Support of the Guard and Reserve and twice supervisor of the year by Bank of Guam. He has volunteered for various financial literacy outreaches.
Limtiaco
Matthew E. Limtiaco was promoted to senior vice president and chief technology officer. He was previously vice president and information security officer from 2018 and formerly human resources information systems manager and identity access management security architect – to which position he was appointed to the bank in 2015.
Prior to that, he spent 25 years in information technology and cybersecurity, both in Guam and in the U.S. mainland. He holds a 1996 bachelor’s of science in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a 2020 master’s of science in cybersecurity management from Purdue University Global. Limtiaco is a certified information systems security professional. He serves on the Notre Dame High School Strategic Planning Committee as well as the St. Francis Church Finance Council.
The bank earlier announced the retirement of Francisco M. Atalig as senior vice president and chief financial officer, Joseph P. Bradley as senior vice president and chief economist and Ernest P. Villaverde as senior vice president and chief technology officer.
Bautista
Kevin Bautista has been appointed director of the Office of the President and chief of staff at the Northern Marianas College. He previously was press secretary and spokesman in the Office of the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and formerly held the same position in an acting capacity. Bautista was first appointed to the government of the Northern Marianas in 2015.
Bautista holds a 2015 bachelor’s of art from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. He is a 2021 candidate for a master’s in public administration at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Bautista is a former Saipan Chamber of Commerce scholarship recipient, and a 2011 Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund scholar.
MariaValentina Haberman was appointed director of community development at Northern Marianas College. She previously was marketing manager at Triple J Saipan Inc. and formerly was marketing communications manager at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Haberman holds a 2004 bachelor’s in education from the University of Hawaii at Monoa and a 2007 master’s in business administration from Chaminade University in Honolulu.
Triple J Saipan Inc. appointed the following individuals:
Mafnas
Jose P. Mafnas Jr. as legal council. He previously was assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands and formerly was an associate attorney in the Law Office of Stephen J. Nutting LLC.
Mafnas holds a 2011 bachelor’s of science in criminal justice and criminology from Chaminade University in Honolulu and a 2016 juris doctorate from the University of California Davis School of Law. He also served taught as an adjunct instructor and lecturer at the Northern Marianas College in Saipan and served as coordinator and military liaison in the Office of the Governor in 2013. He is currently licensed to practice law in the NMI, Guam and California.
Mafnas volunteered for United 4 Saipan in 2015.
Camacho
Fred Camacho as business development manager. He previously was compliance manager at the Northern Mariana Islands Housing Corp. for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program and formerly was project manager for N15 Architecture Co. Inc.
Camacho holds a bachelor’s in elementary education and teaching from Northern Marianas College, and an associate’s in criminal justice.
Ahn
Keith Ahn as manager of Triple J’s Saipan Surfrider Hotel. He previously was pre-opening member for gaming and non-gaming food and beverage manager for Imperial Pacific International in Saipan from 2017, and formerly was pre-opening member and gaming assistant VIP Clubs and Jinmen manager for the Galaxy Macau.
Ahn studied hotel operations management at the College of Southern Nevada and speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and Korean as well as English.
Borja
Pay-Less Markets has made the following appointments: Louise Borja as chief people officer. Borja served as a senator in the 34th and 35th Guam Legislatures, also serving as assistant minority leader and assistant minority whip during her time in the legislature from 2017 to 2021. She previously was a program director and radio host at the Sorensen Media Group in Guam.
Cepeda
Borja’s community service includes board membership of Make-A-Wish Guam & CNMI. She is a certified fitness instructor and a longtime member of the Radiants. Borja will oversee employee training and relations, customer relations and community/public affairs.
Frances Cepeda as assistant chief people officer: She was recently a team member of the Pay-Less Online Shopping launch, has worked at Pay-Less Markets for two years and will assist Borja.
Agravante |
Bambalan |
McDonald’s of Guam promoted Alexander Agravante to department manager at the Tamuning McDonald’s. He previously was certified swing manager. Jirah L. Bambalan was promoted to certified swing manager at the Tamuning McDonald’s. She previously was a shift manager trainee and has been with the company for more than five years.
Untalan
The Guam Chamber of Commerce announced its 2022 elected directors. They are Edward G. Untalan, executive vice president and Guam and NMI region manager, First Hawaiian Bank; Tae Oh, president, Vantage Advertising; Milton Morinaga, senior advisor, P.H.R. Ken Micronesia, Inc., Frank Cruz, vice president and general manager, Guam Fast Foods Inc., which does business as KFC & Sbarro’s; William H. Calori, chief financial officer, Cabras Marine Corp. and Seabridge Inc.; and David E. Silva III, vice president and general manager, Assurance Brokers Inc. Guam, which does business as AB Risk Solutions, and Maureen N. Maratita, publisher, Glimpses Media/Glimpses of Guam, both alternate directors.
Holdover directors are Christine Won Pat Baleto, chief financial officer, Docomo Pacific and master franchisee, Pacific Froots LLC; Jessica M. Barrett, president, Barrett Enterprises Inc., which does business as Barrett Plumbing, Juan Carlos Benitez, president and owner, the Washington Pacific Economic Development Group Inc.; Mika Caldwell, vice president and general manager, Archway Inc., Christopher Duenas, chief financial officer, Triple J Enterprises Inc.; business development director, Atkins Kroll Inc.; Siska S. Hutapea, president, Cornerstone Valuation Guam Inc.; Candy C. Okuhama, president, ASC Trust LLC; Mark J. Sablan, vice president of business development, South Pacific Petroleum Corp.; Phillip Santos, account executive, Matson Navigation Co.; Thomas S.N. Shimizu, general manager, Ambros Inc.; Mark Tokito, senior vice president, Bank of Hawaii; and Kim Anderson Young, president, Security Title, Guam and NMI.
Wigsten
The Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association announced the results of its 2022 election and selection of officers for its board of directors. Sophia Chu Wigsten, general manager, Hyatt Regency Guam chairperson; Marie N. Guerrero, CEO of B&G Pacific LLC and Three Squares Restaurant, first vice chairperson; Sudipta Basu, general manager of City Hill Co. (Guam) Ltd., which does business as the Guam Plaza Resort, secretary/treasurer; Dean Huntsman, general manager, Dusit Thani Guam Resort, hotelier vice chairperson; Darren N. Talai, president of International Dining Concepts, restaurateur vice chairman; and Tae Oh, owner of Vantage Advertising, vice chairman, Allied Industry Chapter.
They join James S. Herbert III, general manager, Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods Inc.; Nick Song, general manager, Westin Resort Guam; Jeffrey Schweizer, president of Asia Pacific Hotels and Bartley A. Jackson, president and owner of Hotel Santa Fe and chief operating officer of B&G Pacific, as the 10th board member for a one-year term.
Cepeda
The Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce announced the election to its board of directors of Maria Eugenia Leon Guerrero, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Bank of Guam; Clare Delgado, principal broker and partner at Home Ventures Realty; Michelle D. Bordallo, controller, Morrico Equipment LLC and president, Phoenix E&C Corp., which does business as Bordallo Consulting Engineers; Jae James, vice president of sales, Pacific Daily News; and Tiffany Tam Angoco, learning and development manager, DFS Group Mid-Pacific, who will serve as an alternate board member.
Those directors will join Laura Nelson Cepeda, vice president of marketing for RTI Cable, president; Helana Leon Guerrero, marketing manager, Sagua Managu LLC, secretary; Livia Marati, founder, Ina Wellness collective; Angel Camacho-Paulino, business advisor, Bank of Guam Women In Business Program; Tasi Q. Peddicord, regional manager of Sales and Customer Service (Guam and Micronesia) for Matson Navigation Co.; Jessica R. Leon Guerrero; president, M80 Systems Inc.; and ex-officio board members Lina Leon Guerrero, manager, Sagua Managu LLC and Geraldine Leon Guerrero, president and general manager, Adztech & Public Relations Inc.
Guerrero
Elected to the 2022 to 2023 Saipan Chamber board of directors were Alexander A. Sablan, vice president of business development for Tan Holdings; Joshua Wise, general manager for Pacific Health Inc., which does business as the PHI Pharmacy; Nicole Babauta, consumer sales manager for Docomo Pacific for the Northern Mariana Islands; and Velma A. Palacios, director of network operations and engineering for IT&E. They join incumbents Joseph C. Guerrero, co-owner, Naked Fish Bar & Grill, and current president; Shayne Villanueva, operations manager for Assurance Brokers Inc., which does business as AB Risk Solutions; Das Krishnan, food and beverage director, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan; Janice Tenorio, customer service and government relations manager, IT&E; Marcia Calvo, marketing account executive, Calvo’s Insurance Underwriters Inc.
