Sharon Shiroma Brown, a senior vice president at First Hawaiian Bank, was recently named president of the First Hawaiian Foundation, the bank’s charitable arm.
The Honolulu native, a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, retains her position as head of the bank’s sales, service and training division, which she has held since 1990.
At the foundation, Brown replaces Lily K. Yao, who retired last month from her position as foundation president and vice chairman of First Hawaiian Bank.
“We’re going to miss Lily, who has had a remarkable, 35-year career of achievements in banking, and did a wonderful job representing First Hawaiian in the community,” said Walter A. Dods, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of First Hawaiian Bank.
“We’re fortunate to have an experienced and talented successor in Sharon Shiroma Brown,” said Dods, who also serves as foundation chairman.
Brown started at First Hawaiian in 1981.
A director of the Hawaiian Humane Society and Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, Brown has also been involved in volunteer leadership roles with the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Aloha United Way, Hale Kipa, and Hawaii’s Junior Miss program.
First Hawaiian Foundation is the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank, and is one of the state’s largest corporate foundations. Last year, the bank and its foundation contributed nearly $2.2 million to more than 300 nonprofits.
First Hawaiian Bank, with $9.3 billion in assets, was founded in 1858, and is Hawai‘i’s oldest bank. It has 56 branches in Hawai‘i, including seven on Kaua‘i from Princeville to Waimea.
The bank has three Guam and two Saipan branches as well, and is a subsidiary of BancWest Corporation, the largest Hawai‘i-based, bank-holding company, with assets of $34.9 billion.
