Editor’s Note: Each of the companies participating in this year’s Top Companies survey was asked about its biggest accomplishments during the past year. The following are the responses of the head executives.
“Our greatest accomplishment was the award of the follow-on Base Operations Support Services contract in September 2014. Unfortunately, a competitor protested that award, and we and Naval Facilities Engineering Command are still embroiled in dispute resolution a year later. We remain optimistic that we will be the ultimate awardee; 2016 is unknown because the winner of the follow-on BOS contract has not yet been decided.”
— Wayne L. Cornell, President and CEO, DZSP 21 LLC
“While we’ve made a number of strides over the last year, the expansion and relocation of our Northern member center is a notable accomplishment. The credit union spent almost 17 years in its original Northern location in Harmon. The new location, in Dededo Mall, provides larger square footage, allowing for more teller windows and account opening desks. The larger space also comes equipped with better parking and accessibility. In addition to our expanded Northern member center, we added four more ATM locations to our lineup.”
— Gener F. Deliquina, CEO, Coast360 Federal Credit Union
“Mobile banking
service.”
— Patrick Chen, President and CEO, Bank of the Marshall Islands
“In 2014, Core Tech completed the construction of two affordable low-income housing tax credit projects on Guam, namely 74 affordable housing units at Summer Green and 81 affordable housing units at Summer Homes.”
— Conchita D. Bathan, CEO, Core Tech International Corp.
“Our joint venture partnership in pursuing the Guam Navy base contract last year. We were ranked in the top three or four offerers.”
— David Alcorn, President , GFS Group
“Black Construction Corp.’s largest accomplishment was the completion of the Ordot Landfill closure. This project was very challenging and complex.”
— Leonard K. Kaae, Senior vice president and general manager, Black Construction Corp.
“The acquisition of the property adjacent to our headquarters on Marine Drive in Upper Tumon for future expansion and development.”
— Robert H. Jones, Chairman and CEO, Triple J Enterprises Inc.
“While we continued to enjoy 100% growth in gross sales over the previous year — which, in and of itself, was a major accomplishment — our single biggest accomplishment was securing a dealership agreement with Buick GMC and the successful reintroduction of the Buick GMC line of vehicles to Guam.”
— Derrick Muna Quinata, President and CEO, Monster Auto Corp., which does business as Guam AutoSpot
“Implementation of a new core banking system in both Guam and American Samoa.”
— John W. Wade, CEO – American Territories, ANZ Guam Inc.
“Among many achievements from being the Small Business Association Lender of the Year to increased asset size to $1.5 billion, our greatest achievement in all this success is in the way we deliver service to our customers. We see their financial needs from their perspective, and we meet them through adaptation, flexibility, quick decisions and with sensitivity and compassion.”
— Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, President, CEO and chairwoman of the board, Bank of Guam
“GTA introduced fiber to the neighborhood with Internet speeds up to 50Mbps in select neighborhoods and currently expanding through Guam; expanded the number of 4G LTE sites by 80%; and signed an agreement with a consortium of seven telecommunications companies to develop a state-of-the-art trans-Pacific underwater cable system to be completed in 2016.”
— Robert Haulbrook, President and CEO, GTA
“Being part of the design and construction management team that finally closed the Ordot Dump.”
— Stephen Quigley, President, GHD Inc.
“Construction of the turnkey fuel terminal at Cabras for IP&E Guam. This was a turnkey multi-discipline project [that included the] design and construction of two 102-foot diameter by 64-foot high, 3.15 million gallon capacity above-ground welded carbon steel fuel storage tanks to API650, including all site geotechnical improvements, reinforced concrete foundations and secondary containment structures. […] Both tanks weighing around 400 tons each were constructed from the top down through the use of 10 jacks/columns to reduce the work performed at height and enable fast, effective securing of partially constructed tanks during assembly — a particularly important feature as 23 tropical storms and 12 typhoons hit the Northwest Pacific during 2014. This type of construction method is a first on Guam.”
— Stevyn J. Radonich, Vice president, Smithbridge Guam Inc.
“This year we are very pleased to have formed a long-term relationship with the Black Construction Corp. team of professionals that will greatly enhance our capabilities both in the present and for the foreseeable future.”
— Monty A. McDowell, CEO and principal broker, Advance Management Inc.
“Our biggest accomplishments last year will have to be 1) Increased utilization of our Electronic Citation System and 2) Increase in the wireless data transmission of the data from mobile unit to the Court System.”
— Olorunfemi “Femi” Bajomo, President, Ledge Light Technologies
“We broke ground for our ship deep draft dock and purse seine net repair facility.”
— Joseph “Jerry” Kramer, President and CEO, Pacific International Inc.
“Winning Toyota’s Customer Service Excellence Award for 10 consecutive years.”
— Desmond Graham, President, Atkins Kroll Inc.
“First Hawaiian Bank is committed to the region and the islands that we serve, investing heavily in infrastructure to enable the bank to recover quickly from disasters to better serve our customers in our disaster-prone islands and developing a strong local management team that has been the key ingredient to the bank’s success and growth.”
— Robert S. Harrison, Chairman and CEO, First Hawaiian Bank
“2014 has been another challenging year, but Jones & Guerrero managed to maintain its core business and has done well in real estate when it moved another investment property from one of its affiliates.”
— Elaine C. Jones, President and chairwoman of the board, Jones & Guerrero Co. Inc.
“Our main priority, and of which we are most proud, remains to provide reliable, affordable energy in a safe and environmentally responsible way to meet the needs of Guam and Micronesia. In addition, we have continued to invest in our customers through engaging promotions with our Smiles loyalty program including a 3% discount for students and in our assets through our canopy replacement program and in the community through our contributions to, among others, the University of Guam Endowment Foundation, Newspapers in Education, American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society.”
— Charles Ewart, President, Mobil Oil Guam Inc.
“In January 2014 we implemented a dream come true: the first profit-sharing check distributed to our eligible staff. We’ve provided to our eligible staff close to, if not over, $7,000 since then. My brother, Thomas [Roberto, general manager], and I are extremely proud of this fact.”
— Joseph Roberto, Managing member, Roberto Enterprises
“Construction of a commercial building in East Agana.”
— Paul M. Calvo, President and chairman of the board, Calvo Enterprises Inc.
“In 2014, Pacific Islands Club created a new guest survey methodology and a training program for the resort. The program has been in place now for over 12 months, and we have seen an immediate return on this investment. We continually seek ways in which we can add value to the PIC brand, and of paramount importance to this objective is an overriding desire to provide a high degree of hospitality to all of PIC’s guests.”
— Ben Ferguson, General manager, Pacific Islands Club Guam
“The refurbishment of the Main Tower rooms and the addition of new areas: The Lanai, Banayan Point and Beachside Cabanas.”
— Makoto “Earnie” Yasuhara, General manager, Hilton Guam Resort & Spa
“Completion of United Airlines’ IT facilities upgrade project.”
— John Day, President and chief operations officer, Pacific Data Systems Inc.
“The most significant accomplishment of Pacific Islands Club Saipan in 2014 was its strong ability to remain financially self-sufficient and debt-free while maintaining its focus on completing its major renovations and capital expenditure projects all throughout the year.”
— Hiroki Sugie, General manager, Pacific Islands Club Saipan
“In an effort to make significant upgrades in availability, reliability, content, coverage and speed, Docomo Pacific launched an aggressive network improvement project, which included placing a substantial portion of our optical infrastructure underground. While this has allowed us to increase capacity and access so customers can enjoy a world-class Internet experience with Docomo Pacific Online, the project also enabled us to roll out our carrier Wi-Fi service to enable our cable modem customers with carrier-grade Wi-Fi access at numerous establishments and vicinities. As we continue to increase capacity allowing for higher speed offerings, our top speed is currently 60 Mbps, which is the fastest Internet speed on Guam.”
— Jonathan Kriegel, CEO, Docomo Pacific
Top Company Articles and List
Deloitte & Touche ASC Trust Corp. 2015 list of Top Companies in Micronesia
The economic future looks bright
It’s a consensus: Good times are coming Guam’s way
