The Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), the largest contractor for the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, has selected business entrepreneur, educator, and tourism consultant Aaron J. Sala as its new president and CEO.

Sala’s appointment was announced tonight at an HVCB membership event. He will start Sept.1, and succeeds Tom Mullen, HVCB Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, who served as interim president and CEO following the departure of John Monahan, who had served as the organization’s top leader since 2003.

Sala is the former chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, and grew up in a family that was deeply immersed in the Hawaii’s tourism industry, and thus learned from an early age the benefits that tourism done right could bring to the community.

He told the Star-Advertiser Wednesday,”Tourism offers us the platform and the vehicle to celebrate difference. I come from the perspective and the philosophy that the key to bringing healing to the world is through color consciousness rather than color blindness.

Hawaii has this very special energy about us that affords us the opportunity to celebrate difference in a very real way. We do this everyday as an aloha community, and so we serve a s a model for what can happen in humanity and in the world. I believe that tourism is the platform to make that happen and that’s why I want this job.”

Sala, who holds a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, has long been involved in Hawaii’s tourism industry, and in cultural consulting. He founded Gravitas Pasifika, a boutique firm dedicated to advancing Native Hawaiian, local Hawaiʻi, and Pasifika talent through innovative and creative production.He also established the Foundation for an Engaged Pacific, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to engaging, educating, and elevating Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities through leadership and professional development.

Sean Dee, HVCB board chair and executive vice president/chief commercial officer for Outrigger Hospitality Group, said in a statement, “Aaron’s extensive experience and deep understanding of our cultural heritage make him the ideal leader for HVCB. His commitment to elevating Native Hawaiian and the Pacific Islander communities in his work is unparalleled. We are confident that under his leadership, HVCB will continue to thrive and promote the rich cultural tapestry of Hawaiʻi.”

Most recently Sala served as Festival Director for the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. Touted as the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders, FestPAC was launched in 1972 to use cultural exchange to halt the erosion of traditional practices. This year’s event, held June 6-16, brought some 2,200 delegates and their entourages from 26 of the 28 Pacific island nations to Hawaii where there were more than 50 events including the opening and closing ceremonies, heritage dance and contemporary music performances, Festival Village, heritage arts demonstrations and visual arts exhibits.

Mullen said in a statement,“Aaron is the right person to lead HVCB into the future. His innovative approach and dedication to cultural preservation and promotion align perfectly with our mission.We are excited to see the positive impact he will have on Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry and our community.”