MEDIA RELEASE

Wayne Y. Hamano, vice chair and chief commercial officer for Bank of Hawaii, will keynote the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s fall commencement, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 at the UH Hilo new gym.

Wayne Hamano

A total of 269 students are candidates for various degrees and certificates representing the Colleges of Arts and Sciences (219), Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management (11), College of Business and Economics (31) and Ka Haka Ula O Keelikolani College of Hawaiian Language (8).

Hamano joined Bank of Hawaii in 1977 as a commercial credit analyst, but left in 1987 to pursue an opportunity to manage a small local business.  He resumed his career with the bank in 1993 when he returned to work in the Corporate Hawaii Division and Special Assets Department.

A member of the bank’s Managing Committee since 2006, Hamano served as senior executive vice president and chief commercial officer before being promoted to his current position in December 2008.

His responsibilities include overseeing the Hawaii Commercial Banking Division, Corporate Banking, Leasing, Dealer Commercial Services, Commercial Real Estate Loan Division, and Cash Management Division.  He also has responsibility for the bank’s Pacific Island Division that includes operations in Guam, Saipan, Palau and American Samoa.

A Hilo High School graduate, Hamano earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School.  Active in his community, Hamano serves on various boards, including the UH Hilo Advisory Board, the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Metro YMCA.

Gladys Tong Hoi Yee, a Business Administration major, represents the graduating class as student speaker.  At 18, Tong will become one of the youngest students to ever earn a four-year degree from UH Hilo.  She was schooled in her native Singapore, Hong Kong and Mainland China before enrolling at UH Hilo, where she has maintained a 3.34 grade point average while completing work on her degree in just two-and-a-half years.

Tong’s campus and community service is extensive.  She most recently served among a select group of students  for the College of Business and Economics during its recent Maintenance of Accreditation review team visit from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

Tong also helped new, transfer, returning and exchange students become familiar with UH Hilo and the local culture this past year as a student orientation leader.  She directed publicity for the International Student Organization’s International Nights and United Nations Day, served as advertising manager for the student newspaper Ke Kalahea, and worked as a docent guide at the Imiloa Astronomy Center.

After graduation, Tong plans to pursue a master’s degree in the Global Business Communications Program at Tsing Hua University in Beijing, or apply to become an inspector with the Hong Kong police force.