HONOLULU (HI Now) - John Leong, CEO of Pono Pacific and Kupu, has devoted his career to protecting Hawaiʻi’s natural resources and empowering the next generation, transforming places once overlooked and creating opportunities for youth. Inspired by his family’s Wailana restaurant and a Youth Conservation Corps experience that revealed the fragility of local ecosystems, he studied business at Wharton but felt called to return home and give back. With grassroots support from his family, he founded Pono Pacific, Hawaiʻi’s first private conservation company, and later co-founded Kupu, named for the resilient kupu kupu fern that returns after lava flows—symbolizing renewal for land and community. Today he leads both organizations with a vision of Hawaiʻi as a “lighthouse to the nations,” grounded in compassion, community, and a leadership ethos to “die empty” by giving fully while you can. This episode of A Leader’s Journey traces his path in a 10-part series on Hawaiʻi leaders; it airs Mondays at 7 pm on K5, with encores on KHNL, KGMB, and streaming on HNN platforms.
To watch A Leader’s Journey’s weekly episodes, visit www.hawaiinewsnow.com/leadersjourney.
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