The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Board of Directors unanimously voted in favor of making an offer to John De Fries to become HTA’s new president and CEO. Accepting the offer, De Fries now becomes the first Native Hawaiian to lead the HTA.

De Fries has more than 40 years of professional experience in the tourism and resort development industries. His visitor industry experience includes serving as executive director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. He is also president and principal advisor for Native Sun Business Group, a business consulting and project management firm that focuses on Hawaii’s hospitality and real estate development industries.

“The board felt John would do an excellent job as HTA’s new president and CEO having generational roots in Hawaii and given his vision for the future, which is so needed in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said HTA board chair Rick Fried.

HTA received over 300 applications for the position. Honolulu-based executive search and staffing firm Bishop & Company assisted with the process. A committee of six HTA board members and three community members reviewed the qualifications of the applicants before narrowing the list down to a group of nine finalists for interviews. De Fries was the unanimous choice.