Pat Richards

Age as of March 1, 2024: 63

Residence Location:        Kamuela, Hawaii

Place of Operation:          Kamuela, Hawaii

Business Experience: As the President and Operations Manager of Kahua Ranch I provide operational and financial direction for our family-owned 97 year old cattle and sheep ranch on the big island of Hawaii. Kahua Ranch has agribusiness activities include weekly BBQ as well as corporate and individual events which I manage the entire process. The last five years I have been working on the long-term strategies and implementation  to   position   the   ranch   for   the   next   generations.

Throughout my career in technology, I provide consulting service for Product, Project Management, training strategies as well as new implementation of automated system in small and large organizations. Each engagement required me to learn and understand how the organizations and industry functioned and provide leadership in the areas they were addressing. Industries including agriculture, banking, healthcare, real estate, hospitality, and various government entities.

Education: BA in Computer Science / Fine Art and an MBA

Current Boards: Kahua Ranch Limited, Atherton Family Foundation

Strategic & Visionary Thinking: My experience includes starting, growing and selling a company that provided technology and management training to large corporations, military and government entities. In taking over the operations of Kahua Ranch Limited in 2021, a 94-year-old cattle and sheep operation in Hawaii, I am part of the team providing direction to position the ranch for the next generation and beyond.

Corporate Governance: Currently, I am responsible for the corporate governance of Kahua Ranch Limited as we move the organization to the third generation. Direct involvement with corporate governance has been part of my duties as the President of the Atherton Family Foundation as well as a former board member to Hawaii Preparatory Academy and the company I founded.

Financial Expertise: Taking over a 94-year-old family business I have the financial responsibilities usually handled by a CFO. Majority of my positions during my career have had financial responsibilities overseeing budgets and managing the short- and long-term borrowing. In addition to direct experience, I have an MBA in finance.

Communication: Communication is the cornerstone of a successful business. All positions I have held required communication with all levels of organizations in person (leading meetings and trainings), electronic meetings and written communication.

Technology: Majority of my career has been spent in the technology field providing direction for the usage of technology as well as designing specific solutions working directly with software engineers. As a VP for a large real estate company, I had a team of 75 employees that provided technology and marketing services for 92 offices and over 6,000 real estate agents.

Human Resource Management: As a board member I provided leadership to a Hawaii Preparatory Academy reviewing all of their HR practices, compliance and compensation. In my position with Kahua Ranch I am responsible for all of HR, review historical practices and making strategic changes as necessary.

Risk Management: History and numbers are a great place to start whenever evaluating the risk associated with any undertaking, new and old. Data helps to provide ways to minimize and mitigate risk. Being an optimist is important to find new opportunities and being a pessimist to be cognoscente of potential downfalls is a must. A good legal team is always important to provide another perspective.

Leadership: I am a servant leader and believe the strength of an organization is its people. I have held leadership positions in corporation and boards for over 30 years. During this time I have successfully grown a service company from the ground up to over 3.5 million revenue and helped profit and non-profit organizations navigate the changing landscape especially with technology.