Q. What are some of the major issues facing the Better Business Bureau?

A. The Better Business Bureau was formed in Hawai'i back in 1945 and nationally back in 1912, so we've got quite a bit of longevity under us. Like any other organization, over time you get into a set way of doing business, and from our perspective to stay relevant in a fairly changing marketplace we're going to have to change with the marketplace and adapt to what's coming down. So relevancy is one thing. The second thing is making sure we provide value to not only our members, but our consumers and the general public.

Q. Is the BBB's focus shared between members and the public?

A. The general impression of the BBB is that we serve consumers, and I think that's a result of so much advertising on our complaint processing, which is a very successful program. But we have three other constituents and those are businesses that serve us as members, donors and charities as well.

Q. What is the benefit to business members?

A. We started with about 12 founding members back in 1945 and today we're about 3,000-plus strong. What we do is we ask the members just exactly what's important to them and we make sure we deliver the value that they want. A poll was done and what we found was 84 percent of all businesses want to be affiliated with an organization of high standards. We bring 63 years of trust-equity to the table and when they display the torch symbol it means something not only to them, but to consumers that walk through the door. The other thing is we accredit the businesses from the standpoint of value to consumers. That means that businesses have decided to sign up to the standards that the BBB provides with regards to licensing, managing complaints, time in businesses, customer service, things of that nature. Once they pass that fairly demanding research that we go through and we accredit them, we list them on our Web site so it affords not only consumers but other businesses an opportunity to find a business that is trustworthy and they can work with.

Q. How has technology affected what the BBB does?

A. It's a challenge, just like any other business. We've gone through upgrades to our infrastructure to be relevant in today's technology era. We just completed a process where we've redone our Web site to make it more user friendly, so we have news items on there, searching for charities, searching for businesses, and we have the latest scam alerts. We try to provide information and opportunities for consumers who log on to our Web site. We have an integrated voice recording system that's been useful for us when people call after hours and need some tips and advice.

Q. You were the vice president of a couple of companies. You took over Unity House, you were at Kamehameha Schools, and you're a retired Air Force brigadier general. That's a pretty extensive resume.

A. What (my background) really affords me is an opportunity to do interesting things. As part of where I am in my life phase, I look for a couple of things: One is what kind of value can we add to the community that's service oriented, how we're going to help the community? Secondly, is it interesting and will we make a difference? I find the BBB very interesting from the standpoint of all the things that we get into, the issues that we play with and the interaction that we have with the marketplace and business community. One of the things that it taught me is the fact that no matter how good you might think you are, it's truly the people who make up the organization that make a difference. So you really have to invest in people so I make it one of my endeavors to make sure that we invest in our people and that we build capacity within the organization because we're only going to be as successful as our people are.

Q. Why did you decide to pursue the BBB job?

A. I was sitting around one day and I found out that the BBB was looking for a new CEO and I sort of knew what the BBB stood for, but I really didn't know what they did. So I did some research and found that it's interesting, they made a difference in the community, they added value, and I think just as importantly, my values were aligned with what they were about. I thought I'd send in my resume and maybe somebody would call me and they sure did.

Q. Any surprises since you've taken over?

A. I was surprised by what the BBB does, all the things that it gets into. For instance, I didn't realize that the BBB had a 501(c)(3) foundation that services teens, seniors and the military community with consumer education seminars. It also has a charity portion to it, where in fact it helps donors better understand whether or not a charity is performing up to the standards that they hope for. When I ask business leaders when a charity comes in and makes a proposal and requests funds, "How do you know that the charity is performing up to the standards that you expect?" —most of them just don't have the time to chase that down. The bigger businesses with foundations usually have the time to do that, but for other businesses, it's really a challenge. We provide that process or review and scrutiny because we have 20 standards that apply to charities. It gives them a good feedback as to whether or not that's the right charity to contribute to.

Q. Do you also oversee the foundation?

A. Yes, I'm the CEO on both sides, but there are two separate boards. We have a board for the BBB and a board for the foundation.

Q. Are you also still a regent with Chaminade University?

A. Yes. It's a great organization led by a wonderful leader in the name of Sue Wesselkamper. She just does bang-up work and she's perhaps one of the top leaders not only in education, but organizationally, that we have here in Hawai'i.

Q. Where do you find the time to do all of this?

A. Well, what's the alternative? The alternative is to go golfing or to sit on the beach and things of that nature. I suspect that one day I'll get there, but I'm not ready for it yet.

Q. What are your goals for your time at the BBB?

A. We're in the middle of strategic planning. The board is engaged in that and we're setting some fairly ambitious goals as we go through this and it certainly comes at a time that's interesting from the standpoint of where the state is going economically. My sense is that the board is going to set a fairly good pace for us that will stretch us.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.