Business

Names & Faces

* Justin Zeches is Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa’s new restaurant and bar manager.

He will oversee the operations at the hotel’s six restaurants and bars.

Zeches has served as the general manager of Roy’s Ka’anapali restaurant since 1997. He was born and raised in Colorado.

* Candy Chung is Island Air’s new director of guest services.

Based in Honolulu, Chung is responsible for servicing the needs of all Four Seasons Resorts Lana’i guests traveling on Island Air.

For the last three years, Chung worked at the Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Manele Bay in various customer focused positions, most recently as the resort assistant manager.

Chung is a University of Hawaii at Manoa graduate and has a degree in travel industry management. She also speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

* Derek Watanabe has been named executive chef of Travaasa Hana. He will over-see the culinary team and all banquet and catering services for the AAA Four Diamond resort in Hana.

Watanabe, born and raised in Honolulu, specializes in regional cuisine. Most recently, Watanabe was a chef/partner of Cafe Julia and Laniakea Catering and chef de cuisine of Watanabe Weddings by Alan Wong in Honolulu.

He also was a chef at various Four Seasons Resorts around the world, including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jakarta, Indonesia.

* Peter Scheider has been named national sales manager for Maui Brewing Co.

He previously worked for Odell Brewing Co. in Colorado.

Maui Brewing Co. is a craft brewery based on Maui. It has one brewery in Lahaina and one brewpub in Kahana with more than 40 different styles of beer on a rotating basis, a news release said.

Business

Names & Faces

* Kapalua Golf Course has appointed Debbie Rasar as director of sales and marketing. She will oversee sales

and marketing initiatives for the Plantation and Bay courses as well as the Kapalua Golf Academy and Kapalua Tennis.

Rasar most recently served as public relations and account manager for the Gilbert & Associates advertising agency. Prior to that, she was Hawaii director of Book Trust, a nonprofit agency responsible for raising money to support children’s literacy programs throughout the state.

* Kim Abrahamson has been named director of resource development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui. She will direct the organization’s fundraising efforts and is responsible for providing resource development service to the nonprofit’s six clubs that serve more than 4,000 Maui youth.

Prior to joining the nonprofit, Abrahamson was director of alumni relations in Seabury Hall’s development office, where she was responsible for alumni engagement, special events and fundraising.

She also served on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui board of directors from 2004 to 2007.

* Rennia Cabal, a family medicine doctor, has joined Kaiser Permanente Maui Lani’s Medical Office.

She earned her medical degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Business

Names & Faces

* Marcy Martin, a real property assessment technical officer with the county’s Department of Finance, was recently honored for earning the first assessment administration specialist designation in the state, according to an announcement.

Martin earned the designation through more than 200 hours of instruction and seven exams. The International Association of Assessing Officers awarded Martin with the honor. The organization is the internationally recognized professional membership organization for government assessment officials.

Martin began working on the designation in 2005.

* Marilyn M. Niwao, of Niwao and Roberts, Certified Public Accountants in Wailuku was recently elected first vice president of the National Society of Accountants.

Niwao has served previously with the national group in different positions. She also has been a past state president for the Hawaii Association of Public Accountants.

Niwao is a certified public accountant and attorney. She is also an accredited tax adviser.

She serves as vice chairwoman on the state Council on Revenues and was a former commissioner of the Hawaii Tax Review Commission.

* Raymond Nicasio has been named executive sous chef at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa.

He was born and raised in the Philippines and has worked in Toronto, and in Houston, where he worked in the main kitchen for the Houston Rockets professional basketball team.

His resume includes time at the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas as well as in 2012 leading the opening of Sheraton Kauai’s signature restaurant “Rum Fire” and earning the Taste of Hawaii “Best Seafood Award.”

* Central Pacific Bank has promoted Kevin Yoshida to vice president and region manager for Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

In his new position, Yoshida is responsible for leading the teams on the three islands to help them meet and exceed the financial needs of their communities, including consumers and local businesses.

Yoshida, a Maui resident, has more than 20 years of banking experience and has been with CPB since 2000, previously serving as vice president and district manager for Maui. Prior to joining CPB, Yoshida served as Kaahumanu branch manager at First Hawaiian Bank.

* Several Maui residents were recently elected for various Hawaii Government Employee Association director positions for the 2013-15 term.

They include:

* Unit 9, registered professional nurses, Barbara “Susie” Uweko’olani, a registered professional nurse, Maui Memorial Medical Center, post- anesthesia care unit/surgery center.

* Unit 13, professional and scientific employees, Mary D. Wagner, business continuity plan manager, County of Maui, Department of Management, Information Technology Services Division.

* Maui-at-large, Arnold D. Abe, a Unit 13 member and civil engineer, County of Maui, Department of Environmental Management, Wastewater Reclamation Division.