FHB’s Caulfield to retire; Baughman to replace him

Gary Caulfield, left, will be succeeded by Derek Baughman, executive vice president, as the bank’s chief information officer.

HONOLULU, Hawaii—First Hawaiian Bank chairman and chief executive officer Bob Harrison announced yesterday that Gary Caulfield, First Hawaiian Bank vice chairman and chief information officer, is retiring after a distinguished 34-year career as an executive at Hawaii’s largest bank.

Caulfield began his banking career with First Hawaiian in 1983 as an assistant vice president and quickly rose through the ranks. He was named vice chairman in 2003 and chief information officer in 2009 and has been a member of the bank’s senior management committee since 1995.

“Throughout his tenure with the bank, Gary has played a pivotal role in leading numerous technology systems conversions and operational changes while minimizing disruption to customer service,” said Harrison. “Through his skillful oversight in the areas of technology, data management, operations and research, the bank has been able to achieve greater efficiencies across the board, resulting in significant process optimization.”

“Gary is an accomplished leader, a wise sage, and is a teacher at heart. I am grateful for him generously sharing his institutional knowledge with all of us,” said Eric Yeaman, president and COO of First Hawaiian. “We want to thank Gary for his friendship, his years of outstanding leadership, and his unwavering dedication to our customers, his team and to our bank.”

Caulfield will be succeeded by Derek Baughman, executive vice president, as the bank’s chief information officer. Baughman assumes his new role effective March 1, 2017.

Baughman has over 27 years of experience in the IT industry with 22 of those years in the banking industry and joined the bank in 2014. He is responsible for leading the bank’s development of strategic technology initiatives, overseeing all aspect of technology operations and managing enterprise-wide technology programs to ensure the bank’s systems provide optimal results.

First Hawaiian Bank (fhb.com), with assets of $19.7 billion, was founded in 1858 as Bishop & Co., and today is Hawaii’s largest bank. It has 57 branches in Hawaii, three in Guam and two on Saipan. First Hawaiian, Inc., the parent company of First Hawaiian Bank, is the largest publicly traded company based in Hawaii. (PR)