HONOLULU - Business leader, venture capitalist, and philanthropist John Dean has pledged $75,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the Shidler College of Business. The gift will seed the John Dean Challenge, which will be Dean’s latest call to action for Hawai‘i’s business community to support the entrepreneurship center at the University of Hawai‘i.
The funds raised will go to support entrepreneurship education at the University of Hawai‘i and facilitate activities that support innovation, transfer of knowledge, and private sector investments in UH-based technology. Currently, PACE organizes fifteen plus programs and events. PACE executive director, Susan Yamada, envisions expanding the center’s reach and influence by creating paid internships to evaluate UH's innovative technology as well as assist startup businesses in the community, sending promising teams to global business plan competitions both internationally and on the Mainland, and continuing to bring in guest speakers to talk about the entrepreneurial journey.
"As business models rapidly evolve through advancements in technology, the spirit of entrepreneurship continues to drive the vision and innovation that benefit our entire Island community," said John C. Dean. "PACE continues to play a critical role in nurturing these ideas into reality and needs the support of its key stakeholders, which are the members of Hawai‘i’s private sector."
Established in 2000, PACE at the Shidler College of Business is home to an integrated set of leading-edge entrepreneurship programs at the University of Hawai‘i. PACE is dedicated to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among all members of the University and local community through educational opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercialization. In the last two years, PACE has provided assistance to more than 100 businesses and has had more than 2,000 people participate in its programs.
"John’s challenge is a testament to his commitment to facilitating new ideas that could potentially become real commercial business enterprises for the State of Hawai‘i,” says Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. “We are grateful for his leadership and support of PACE. As a result, the Center is recognized as the leading expert in commercialization and entrepreneurship within UH.”
Dean’s 30-year career in the financial services industry includes the turnaround of several struggling banks, including Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In 2001, Forbes magazine named him one of the “50 most powerful dealmakers.” After retiring from SVB in 2001, John co-founded Startup Capital Ventures, a venture firm focused on early-stage startups based in Hawai‘i, California and Asia. In 2010, John emerged to lead the then struggling Central Pacific Bank (CPB). Along with his management team, John and his team successfully raised $325 million in a recapitalization effort needed to avoid regulatory action. Since then, CPB has had eight consecutive quarters of profitability.
Dean currently serves on the board of directors for PACE and is the founder and sponsor of the Kipapa i ke Ala Lecture Series. The Kipapa Lecture Series has brought together highly successful and respected local entrepreneurs such as Duane Kurisu, Allen Ikawa, and Barry Taniguchi, as well as global luminaries like Steve Case and Pierre Omidyar to the Hawai‘i community.
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The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Established in 1949 as the College of Business Administration, the College was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is consistently ranked among the nation's top graduate schools for international business by U.S. News. Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the College is a professional school offering a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The UH Shidler College of Business is the only graduate program in the State of Hawai‘i accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students thrive in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit manoa.hawaii.edu and manoa.hawaii.edu/media. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter www.twitter.com/UHManoaNews.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
