Allan A. Smith steps down after 19 years By Charlotte Woolard – The Garden Island Allan A. Smith, senior vice president of Grove Farm Company, announced last week that he will retire on Sept. 11, ending 19 years at the
Allan A. Smith steps down after 19 years
By Charlotte Woolard – The Garden Island
Allan A. Smith, senior vice president of Grove Farm Company, announced last week that he will retire on Sept. 11, ending 19 years at the Puhi-based land development and management company.
That day — the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and also of Hurricane ‘Iniki — may seem an odd choice, except for one fact.
Smith also celebrates his birthday on Sept. 11.
The Kekaha-born executive said he has already begun a slow transition to retirement.
“We have young people that are coming along very quickly,” he said. “The hand-off has started.”
He won’t be entirely out of the picture.
“I will be consulting with the company from time to time,” he said.
For the most part, however, hunting, fishing, golf and travel will replace activities like planning off-site improvements of a new Costco, renovating irrigation tunnels and repairing roads.
“When the time’s right, the time’s right,” he said. “Next month I’ll just be John Q. Citizen.”
As the number two man at Grove Farm, Smith hasn’t been just John Q. for some time.
“You’re not only an individual, but you represent the company and what it stands for,” he said.
In 1987, he joined the former plantation company, which currently owns about 40,000 acres of land stretching from the southern shore to the southeastern quadrant of Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale.
He chose the company because of its economic diversity, he said. As the plantations closed down, the company successfully pushed into the business of land development and management, an area that interested Smith.
As the company evolved, so did his expertise. He took courses at Stanford and Harvard universities’ business schools, learning not only about real estate and licensing, but nonprofit management as well.
Nonprofit work has been a big part of his time at Grove Farm. He’s served on the boards of many Kaua‘i organizations, including the Economic Development Board, Kauai United Way and the American Hearth Association.
“The company does well, and it does good for the community,” he said.
His tenure hasn’t been without controversy, with biotech crops on Grove Farm land and infrastructure problems taxing public opinion of new development.
Long-time residents approach Smith to air their concerns, he said — something Warren H. Haruki, the company’s president and chief executive may have had in mind when, in a press release, he called Smith “Grove Farm’s ambassador to Kaua‘i.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to make a gut-wrenching decision,” Smith said. He tries to be frank with everyone, he said, and that keeps friends by his side.
Smith said he is proud of Grove Farm’s land development policies.
“Our company has done it deliberately and orderly and carefully,” he said. “You cannot be short-sighted. You’ve got to take a long look.”
• Charlotte Woolard, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or cwoolard@kauaipubco.com.
