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UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business honored four distinguished individuals at its annual Hall of Honor Awards fundraising dinner on October 13th at the Sheraton Waikiki. The honorees were Rick Ching, President and Chief Operating Officer, Servco Pacific Inc.; John C. Dean, Jr., Executive Chair, Central Pacific Bank; Tra My Nguyen (Vietnam), Founder and Chairwoman, CSC Vietnam and Vice Chairwomen, The PAN Group; and Teresa Yang (Hong Kong), Vice Chairman, Esquel Group of Companies.

These individuals represent the best of business and were honored for their outstanding leadership in their profession, service to their communities, and support of education. This year’s inclusion of Ms. Tra My Nguyen from Vietnam and Ms. Yang from Hong Kong illustrates the global influence of the college through the success of its international alumni.

As president and chief operating officer of Servco Pacific Inc., Patrick "Rick" Ching (MBA ’86) is involved in the strategic planning and capital allocation decisions for the company. He currently oversees Servco’s Hawai‘i automotive operations, and home appliance division, and many of the company’s resource and support units. He also serves on Servco’s executive and management committees, and on the Board of Directors of Servco Australia (seven automotive dealerships).

John C. Dean, Jr. has spent 35 years in the financial industry focusing on troubled institutions and restoring them to profitability. In 2010, Dean joined Central Pacific Bank (CPB) as CEO to oversee its recapitalization. After leading CPB to profitability, Dean stepped down as CEO in 2015. Today, he serves as Executive Chairman of the CPB Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawai‘i Shidler College of Business. Dean also advises various venture capital firms and is the managing general partner of Startup Capital Ventures.

Born and raised in Vietnam, Tra My Nguyen (Vietnam Executive MBA ’07) is the founder, Chairwoman and CEO of CSC Vietnam JSC., an investment company focusing on agriculture, education and real estate.  She also serves as the vice Chairwoman of The PAN Group, a leading regional agriculture and food company. Under the leadership of Tra My, CSC and The Pan Group have strengthen domestic markets and are currently expanding markets in the United States and Singapore. As a strong advocate for sustainable development, she also serves on the board of several leading agricultural companies in Vietnam.

A native of Hong Kong, Mingyen "Teresa" Yang (BBA 1984) is Vice Chairman of the Esquel Group, a leading Hong-Kong-based textile and apparel manufacturer with production facilities across five Asian countries. Esquel is one of the world’s leading producers of name brand garments such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Nike. Yang is responsible for Esquel Group’s strategic planning and focuses her energy in strengthening operations. Yang is also involved with many organizations that oversee Hong Kong’s textile and clothing industry.

Source: Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa.