First Hawaiian Bank Lecture Series Convenes Impactful Dialogues
Bob Harrison, Chairman, President & CEO of First Hawaiian Bank; Admiral Thomas Fargo, USN (Retired); Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander, US Pacific Fleet; and Suzanne Vares-Lum, President, East-West Center at the 2023 FHB Endowed Lecture Series.
Almost forty years ago, First Hawaiian Bank seeded a visionary idea. That Hawaiʻi, with the East-West Center at the core, will serve as an international forum for discussing “current and future international issues and problems.” The objectives were simple:
To exchange and advance knowledge about Asia and the Pacific;
To deepen understanding and enlightenment between the East and the West; and
To establish a primary educational forum in the Pacific to discuss important international issues and promote new ideas.
The First Hawaiian Bank Endowed Lecture Series Fund was established to turn this vision into reality. Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivered the inaugural lecture in 1986. Decades later, their vision endures and remains deeply relevant in the inter- connected global environment of today.
The East-West Center’s latest strategic plan highlights the Center’s role as a trusted and respectful convener of impactful dialogues.
The First Hawaiian Bank Endowed Lecture Series Fund helped to elevate EWC’s work in this area by supporting lectures and dialogues by distinguished speakers such as Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa and US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo.
“As change accelerates in the world, a commitment to open dialogue and exchange of ideas that foster human connection and understanding is all the more necessary. First Hawaiian Bank is proud to partner with the East-West Center to convene impactful dialogues toward solving critical challenges of our communities, region and the world.”
Raoul Magaña, SVP & Division Manager, First Hawaiian Bank