Mark Fukunaga, chairman and CEO, to transition to new role as Executive Chair,
and Rick Ching, president and COO, to retire on October 1, 2023
HONOLULU – Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco) announced today that Peter Dames will become the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2023. Mark Fukunaga will step down as Chief Executive Officer and transition from Chairman to Executive Chair of the Board. Rick Ching will retire as President and Chief Operating Officer but remain a Director of Servco’s Global Mobility Board.
“Peter has been an invaluable leader in guiding Servco’s shift from a product-focused company to a services-based mobility business,” said Fukunaga. “He truly exemplifies our core value of ‘continuous innovation,’ and I have every confidence that he, along with our incredible leadership team, will continue to build on Servco’s success.”
Dames who currently serves as Servco’s Executive Vice President with responsibility for Hawaiʻi automotive retail operations and marketing was named to his new role by Servco’s Board of Directors. Dames joined the company in 2018 after serving on its board for two years. Not only did he create Servco’s digital strategy team, but he led automotive distribution and retail, IT, Hui Car Share and marketing. Dames has built long-lasting relationships with Toyota executives in Japan and the United States and has a lifelong interest in music as a percussionist and bassist. As CEO, Dames will be responsible for all Servco businesses, including its automotive business in Hawaiʻi and Australia, musical instruments business, and venture capital investments.
Dames serves on for-profit boards for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Pacific Guardian Life, and the non-profit boards of Japan America Society Hawaii, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, and the TRUE Initiative.
“I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Mark and Rick for the past five years,” said Dames. “They’ve built an amazing team with strong values and an unbeatable work ethic and have carried the company through unprecedented challenges such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Fukunaga joined the company in 1988 and became CEO in 1994. Since then, Servco’s revenues have multiplied twelve-fold to $3.2 billion in 2022. He is the third generation of leadership from the Fukunaga family. Mark’s grandfather, Peter, founded the company in 1919 as a two-car repair garage in Waialua.
In Fukunaga’s new role as Executive Chair of the Board, he will focus on the company’s growth initiatives, and together with Dames, continue to maintain and strengthen key business and family relationships. Fukunaga will continue as Chairman of the Board for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Ching has been part of Servco’s team for 38 years, holding various positions in corporate finance, including Chief Financial Officer. He moved into automotive operations in 2001 and was named President in 2009 and COO in 2014.
With Ching’s retirement, Servco will make the following additional changes to its automotive leadership team:
- Nick Pappas, Managing Director of Servco Australia, will add the titles of President/Managing Director of Servco Global Mobility group. He will be responsible for setting strategic direction for both Australia and Hawaiʻi Mobility operations. Pappas has 33 years of experience in the Australia automobile business. He will report to Peter Dames.
- Peter Hirano, Executive Vice President of Hawaiʻi Distribution, People and Strategy, will become Chief Operating Officer of Servco’s Hawaiʻi Mobility group and will oversee all automotive retail, distribution, and support functions in Hawaiʻi. Hirano has been with the company since 2017. He will report to Nick Pappas.
About Servco Pacific
Founded in 1919, Servco Pacific Inc. is Hawaiʻi’s largest private company. Servco’s main businesses are in automotive distribution and retailing, and in musical instruments and e-learning. In the automotive area, it owns a diverse group of automotive businesses including exclusive distributorships of Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru in Hawaiʻi; a network of over 30 retail dealerships in Australia and Hawaiʻi; and Hui Car Share and other mobility initiatives. It is one of the Top 15 largest automotive dealer groups based in the U.S. and the largest Toyota dealer group in Australia. In musical instruments, it owns Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, the iconic global maker of Fender, Gretsch, Jackson, Squier and EVH guitars, basses and amplifiers and provider of music e-learning through its Fender Play app. In 2021, it acquired Presonus, a leader in music technology solutions for creators and players. Servco is also a major shareholder in Roland Corporation, the innovative manufacturer of electric keyboards, synthesizers, percussion and guitar amplifiers and sound effects. In addition to Servco’s operating businesses, it is an active investor in venture capital, particularly around mobility and music creation. The company has been recognized as a 2022 US Best Managed Company and one of the “Best Places to Work in Hawaii” for 19 consecutive years. For more information, visit www.servco.com.