Arnold Martines named new CEO of Central Pacific Bank and holding company

COURTESY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK
Arnold Martines, currently president and chief operating officer of Central Pacific Bank and the holding company, will become CEO of both entities on Jan. 1. He will retain his president title.

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COURTESY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK

Arnold Martines, currently president and chief operating officer of Central Pacific Bank and the holding company, will become CEO of both entities on Jan. 1. He will retain his president title.

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COURTESY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK

CEO Paul Yonamine, 65, is stepping down at the end of December.

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COURTESY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK

Former CEO Catherine Ngo, 61, who is currently vice chair of both the parent company and the bank, will become chair of both entities.

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COURTESY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK

Central Pacific Bank executives, from left, Catherine Ngo, David Morimoto, Arnold Martines and Paul Yonamine.

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Arnold Martines, who grew up in the tiny Big Island town of Paauilo, completed a 27-year rise to the top today when he was named as the next chief executive officer of Central Pacific Financial Corp. and its bank subsidiary.

Martines, 58, who less than a year ago was promoted to president and chief operating officer, will take over as the fourth CEO within eight years at the state’s fourth-largest bank when he assumes the post for Paul Yonamine, 65, who is stepping down at the end of December. Yonamine will become chairman emeritus of both the holding company and Central Pacific Bank. Martines will retain the president title for both entities.

Former CEO Catherine Ngo, 61, who is currently vice chair of both the holding company and the bank, will become chair of both entities.

The new appointments will be effective Jan. 1.

“I’m very humbled,” Martines said in a phone interview. “I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders because I know that I’m now responsible for a lot of people that depend on my decision and the executive team’s decisions for their success, not just for their personal success but for their family’s success in the future. And, certainly, exceeding customers’ expectations is also weighing on me and ensuring we continue to do our best for our customers and the broader community.”

Martines, who was born and raised in Paauilo, attended Honokaa High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.

He started his banking career in 1995 as an assistant branch manager at Bank of Hawaii and joined Central Pacific in February 2004 as vice president and portfolio management approval manager before working his way up the ranks.

Yonamine, the son of Hawaii and Japan baseball great Wally Yonamine, had been a board member of Central Pacific Financial and the bank before he was named chairman and CEO of both in September 2018.

Under his leadership and with the assistance of Martines, Central Pacific launched RISE 2020, a renovation and rebranding program that invested $40 million in the bank’s branches, ATMs and digital platforms, as well as the redevelopment of Central Pacific Plaza, the bank’s landmark building in downtown Honolulu.

Yonamine said he plans to spend more time with his children in California and spend more time in Japan in connection with his membership on three boards in that country.