Arnold Martines, a Big Island native, has been promoted to president and CEO of Central Pacific Bank, one of the largest banks in Hawaii.
Martines, 58, previously served as president and chief operating officer for CPB, and succeeds Paul Yonamine, 65, who is retiring to become chairman emeritus of the bank and the holding company.
“My job as the new CEO will be to stay the course with our strategy and to continue to provide strong leadership,” Martines told the Tribune-Herald on Thursday. “We have a highly capable management team that represents a good mix of longtime and new executives that understand both our legacy and the importance of fresh approaches.”
All appointments are effective Jan. 1, 2023.
“I look to the future with optimism for the bank and for the greater community,” said Martines. “The best is yet to come.”
Growing up in Nakahara Village in Paauilo, Martines from a young age understood the importance of community.
“The values that have helped me in my career really came from growing up in Paauilo and growing up on the Big Island,” he said. “It was seeing really good people around me do great things, supporting each other in good times and in bad.”
Martines was graduating from Honokaa High School when the sugar plantation era came to an abrupt end. Instead of succumbing to the challenges, he said the community came together and persevered, opening small businesses and adapting to the hospitality industry.
That resilience inspired his career.
“My parents and grandparents, and many of my friends and their families, had to pivot all of a sudden, because one day they had a job, and the next day they didn’t,” Martines said. “Nobody dwelled on the fact that the sugar industry was all done. They focused on the future, and how they were going to support their families, especially their children. That stays with me.”
Martines’ comes from several generations of Big Island residents. His mother graduated from Laupahoehoe High School and his father from Honokaa.
“My mom set a good example. She was a single parent when my dad passed on when I was very young,” he said. “I was very fortunate to have lots of aunties and uncles that helped me along the way.”
When Martines joined the banking industry in 1995 as an assistant branch manager at Bank of Hawaii, he made it a goal to help the community in return.
“I never thought I’d become a banker,” said Martines, adding he met several bankers on the Big Island who encouraged him to try it out. “It took a few years before it really started to resonate and feel like this is something I love and am passionate about. It aligns with my own values and my desire to be of service to people, to make a difference in the community.”
Since joining CPB in 2004, Martines has led several initiatives including the federally funded Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic. The loans became a lifeline for small businesses, and under his direction, the bank issued 11,833 PPP loans worth $870 million, more than any other local bank in the state and making up 28% of the total PPP loans issued in Hawaii.
“I was very pleased with the bank’s performance and ability to support small-business owners through the PPP program,” he said. “Those experiences we had during the pandemic will make us stronger moving forward. It was incredible inspiration for me to see the effort and how everybody came together to support the community.”
Martines also played a key role in CPB’s RISE 2020 initiative, a renovation and rebranding program that invested $40 million into the bank’s branches, ATMs and digital platforms, along with the redevelopment of Central Pacific Plaza, the bank’s landmark building in Honolulu.
Behind each success, Martines credits the team.
“I’m surrounded by a great team that have similar mindsets,” he said. “We have a lot of ideas that we’re talking about as to how we can help support small businesses in the future.”
Martines also plans to address affordable housing in his new role.
“I am extremely humbled to have this opportunity but also feel a heavy burden on my shoulders, because I know my fellow team members and customers are looking to me to do the right things,” he said. “Affordable housing is definitely an area that’s on my radar. We’re going to work hard to ensure that CPB is at the forefront of helping to lead that area.”
Martines continues to play an active role in the community, serving on the boards of the Aloha Council Boy Scouts of America and Child and Family Service, both of which he previously chaired.
“Part of leadership is finding a way to give back,” he said. “To be able to pay it forward.”
Martines also cites the history of CPB as a key influence behind his ambitious plans for the future.
“Our bank was founded by Nisei, Japanese American veterans,” he said. “When World War II was over, they came back home to Hawaii and went out to start their lives, but they couldn’t get loans to buy a home. They couldn’t get loans to start a business. So, they came together and founded our bank, because they felt that, at the time, there was a need for a bank that was going to try and help everybody.”
Those values continue to drive Martines’ mission for CPB.
“When I talk about small businesses and I talk about helping people get homes or even our relationship with Japan, those focus areas go back to the founding of our organization and the importance of ensuring that we’re perpetuating those values in the future,” he said. “I’m a little biased because I grew up here, but those Big Island values are very special.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
