DIVERSITY IS THE ART OF THINKING INDEPENDENTLY TOGETHER.

MALCOLM FORBES

MA RY KAIONA KIM
RIBA, ARB
Chief Executive Officer

Ma Ry is a visionary leader and architect with over 28 years of experience in design and development. With a background in architecture, urbanism, and entrepreneurship, Ma Ry has worked with some of the world's most innovative companies, such as Apple and Google, as well as capital partners and public sector clients across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the US. 

Ma Ry’s strength is her ability to seamlessly hybrid her skills and knowledge with other disciplines. Her roles in a diverse portfolio of companies include: 

- CEO of I-ON Group, a multidisciplinary company that creates projects that grow markets into community engines that are renewable, profitable, and globally scalable. 

- The Co-founder of B-HARI, the Brain Health Applied Research Institute, a pioneer in integrating neuroscience, aging, indigenous culture, and biophilia into lifestyle solutions and built environments that improve brain health. 

- A Partner and Principal Architect with G70, the largest multidisciplinary, architecture, engineering, and planning firm in Hawai’i. 

- The Co-founder of Kalahikiola Group, a Design collaboration with Manaola Yap of the Manaola Group. 

- A former Principal, Regional Design Leader, and Global co-lead of the Mixed Use Practice Area in Europe and the Middle East for Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm. 

Ma Ry is passionate about making a difference in the built environment, preserving natural resources and ancestral knowledge, and empowering people to thrive in a transforming world. She is also a mother to five amazing human beings, a former associate professor of architecture, and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

 

RUSS WOZNIAK
D. Arch., P.E., P.Eng, CCCA, R.A.
Chief Operating Officer

With 25 years of experience Russ has three distinct areas of experience, Engineering, Architecture and Construction. Russ is both a license civil engineer and architect, has a doctorate in architecture, and a range of development experience. Having led several engineering and architecture projects, Russ recently has primarily been focused on community based projects with great emphasis on the social value within each project. In the past 5 years Russ has been focused on building efficiency and affordability specifically in Hawai’i and has started to take these “lessons” to an international scale. Russ has lived and worked in England, Korea, Brazil, Canada and Hawaii. With a strong belief that Hawai’i can be a global model for resilient project blueprints, Russ continues to strive to put this to action.

 
 

CHARLES KANESHIRO
AIA, LEED AP
G70 Pesident
Partner, Sustainability & Development Advisor

Charles is the President and Chief Operating Officer of G70, Hawaii’s largest multidisciplinary design firm. A passionate advocate of biophilic design, Charles has created many of the “first” in Hawaii including Kanu o Ka Aina, the First LEED Platinum School; UH C-MORE, the First LEED Platinum Laboratory; Iolani Sullivan Center, the First HI-CHPS certified project. A former high school math teacher, Charles is a recognized leader in the design of educational spaces. Charles has served as the first president of the Association For Learning Environments (A4LE) Hawaii Chapter and 2010 President of American Institute of Architects Honolulu Chapter. Charles has served as an Elder in his church, is active in the community as a mentor and role model for many young professionals, and is even a qualified high school math and science teacher.

 

GARRETT KAM
Partner, Procurement & Sourcing

Born and raised in Hawaii and graduating from Kamehameha Schools in 1981, Garrett moved to California and pursued his BA in economics and International Finance at Claremont McKenna College. Over the next 35 years, he fine tuned his skills in factory direct sourcing and global procurement and continues to operate his own business HK Consultants LLC maintaining factories, sourcing agents and logistic companies throughout Asia and Europe specializing in areas of textile development, private label apparel, hospitality furniture and construction building materials. Garrett also actively helps to manage the daily operations and practices of I-ON Group for all of its projects.

 

THUY NGUYEN-MARTINES
Chief Financial Officer

Thuy has worked in the banking industry for over 27 years. She started her career as a Management Associate in Commercial Credit at Bank of Hawaii’s Management Development Program and became Vice President and Manager in Private Client Services with Bank of Hawaii in Guam. In 2003, she joined Central Pacific Bank as a Vice President and Senior Private Banking Officer in Wealth Management Group. She was promoted to Senior Vice President and Director in Private Banking at Central Pacific Bank in 2010 and held that position until 2023.

At Central Pacific Bank, she managed mid to high 8-figure credit portfolio and mid 8-figure in deposits of high net worth individuals. She was instrumental in growing Private Banking credit portfolio from low 7-figures to over 9-figures. As a Vice President and Director, she managed a Private Banking Center to deliver a full array of banking, credit, trust, and investment services to the affluent Hawaii market. She was responsible for personnel, credit, business development, marketing management and business unit profitability.

BEAU NAKAMORI
AIAS
Design

Beau is the Hawaii President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS). He has a Bachelors in Environment Design and is currently a Doctorate of Architecture student at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Beau has also served as AIAS Director of Outreach from 2018-20. Beau has placed 1st in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Hawaii Wood Show (College), 1st in the Basic Design Spatial Exploration Model Competition 2018, and 1st in the 2021 Student Employee of the Year Team Award. Beau has represented the University of Hawaii in the 2021 ‘Finding Our Kuleana’ Campaign and has been the recipient of the Castagna Scholarship, Architectural Donald G. Deer Memorial Scholarship and Johnson-Kelley Architectural Travel Grant, where he studied architecture abroad in Italy. Beau believes firmly in reforming Hawaii’s education system and approaching architecture as a simultaneous medium that connects all disciplines and people together.

 

MEL KANESHIGE
Chair of Development

A Harvard and University of Pennsylvania trained professional, Mel’s career spans a variety of real estate related areas. Mel was an attorney in private practice with the Hawaii law firm of Chun, Kerr, Dodd & Kaneshige for 20 years with a practice concentrated in real estate. Then, in 1995, he joined Outrigger Enterprises Group, the parent of Outrigger Hotels which was then the largest hotel company in Hawaii, as executive vice president of real estate and development, responsible for all of Outrigger’s real estate assets. At Outrigger, he expanded Outrigger’s asset base throughout Hawaii and into the Asia Pacific region with acquisitions in Hawaii, Thailand, Australia, Mauritius, Vietnam, China, and the Maldives. Most importantly, he spearheaded the largest development project in Waikiki’s history - Outrigger’s Waikiki Beach Walk project – that kick started the massive reinvestment in Waikiki by others including Hilton, Sheraton, Royal Hawaiian Center, International Market Place and others. Currently,

Mel serves as a consultant for Hawaii nonprofits (e.g., the aio Foundation (Kahauiki Village), the Salvation Army, Palama Settlement, and the 442nd Legacy Center) seeking to make more productive use of their real estate assets to provide additional revenue to achieve their missions, as well as providing strategic advice to the I-ON Group.

 

ELIM NG
D. Arch., AIA
Chief Creative Officer

Elim’s passion is rooted in Biophilic Design that embraces natural forms and materials. With a gift for translating ideas into the physical, Elim holds a Master’s degree from Shanghai’s Tongji University in the connection between emotions and architecture. Further, Elim has a Doctorate of Architecture from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in applying the Principals of Feng Shui to designing spaces that bring human comfort and joy.

Elim's professional journey has taken her around the globe, including immersive experiences in Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore. These international ventures have enriched her architectural perspective and refined her creative sensibilities.

As Chief Creative Officer, Elim combines her visionary insights with the pragmatic demands of brand strategy. Her portfolio spans a diverse range of industries, including Agriculture, Education, Hospitality, and Community Groups. By skillfully harmonizing the economic viability and aesthetic appeal of ideas and products, she brings these concepts to life in compelling ways that encapsulate vision, narrative, and innovation, ultimately creating environments that resonate deeply with people.