Led by chairman and CEO John Dean, Central Pacific Bank (CPB) and its executives have committed $200,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) to expand the center and its programs. A new accelerator program will be a key feature.
The center, located in the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business, facilitates entrepreneurial education and research commercialization at UH. CPB’s gift will go towards the five-year PACE initiative that was launched in February 2014. The goal is to raise $2.5 million to create new programs, grow existing programs and renovate a new and larger location in the Shidler College of Business.
The new facility will enable PACE to create a vibrant co-working space for entrepreneurial activity at the University, double the number of entrepreneurial programs it offers, introduce an entrepreneurial curriculum to other UH Mānoa colleges and train key faculty on current entrepreneurial pedagogy. The facility will also play a pivotal role in the commercialization of UH technology and innovation, and establish a presence in Asia as a leader in entrepreneurial education.
CPB co-president and chief operating officer Catherine Ngo and CPB chief financial officer Denis Isono also committed to join the newly formed PACE board of directors which is chaired by Dean.
“PACE plays a significant role in Hawaiʻi’s economic diversification by supporting the growth of our innovation-based industry, as well as the development of high-skill jobs and an entrepreneurial talent pool in our state,” said Dean, chairman and CEO of CPB.
Read the UH Mānoa news release for more.
