Wigsten named 2016 Businesswoman of the Year

Hyatt Regency Guam general manager Sophia Chu Wigsten is the 2016 First Hawaiian Bank and Guam Business Magazine Businesswoman of the Year. (Contributed Photo)

TUMON, Guam—Sophia Chu Wigsten, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Guam, was presented the Maga’håga award and named the 2016 First Hawaiian Bank and Guam Business Magazine Businesswoman of the Year at the 11th Annual Businesswoman of the Year Gala on April 30 at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

Wigsten was selected from seven nominees in this year’s program, which recognizes businesswomen who have made significant contributions to their industries and have demonstrated a strong commitment to their community. Her photo is featured on the cover of Guam Business Magazine’s May-June issue, which was released at the gala.

Wigsten began her career in the tourism industry in 1992 as a sales manager at the Palace Hotel Guam.Since joining the Hyatt Regency Guam team in 1995 as business development manager, she has risen through the ranks until she was appointed general manager in March 2014. Wigsten is the Hyatt Regency Guam’s first female and locally appointed general manager.

A native of Taipei, Taiwan, she graduated from Academy of Our Lady of Guam and went on to earn a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Portland.

She serves as a board member and first vice chairperson of the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association, and through the Hyatt, she is actively involved in the Guam Chamber of Commerce as well as several Guam Visitors Bureau committees and community organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam, Guam Cancer Care, the American Red Cross Guam Chapter and the United Service Organizations.

Wigsten is married to John Wigsten, and they have two daughters: Hallie, 14, and Ella, 10.

Proceeds from the gala will fund scholarships for students pursuing business and related degrees at the University of Guam, Guam Community College and Northern Marianas College.

Wigsten joins the previous Businesswoman of the Year Maga’håga award recipients, which are as follows: Joann G. Camacho, director of market development, DFS Guam (2015); Shirley Ann T. Sablan, executive vice president and general manager of Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. (2014); F. Marie Calvo-Monge, chief operating officer and executive producer of Pacific Telestations (2013); Mary P. Rhodes, president of the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association and president of MARQ Consulting Services (2012); Joyce Q. Crisostomo, executive director of Cars Plus and president of Payless Car Rental (2011); Anna Wang Kao, founder and president of Genghis Khan Furniture Co. (2010); Lorraine S. Okada, president of Okada Managing Consulting Services (2009); Julienne Rose Perez Duenas, physical therapist, owner and clinical director of Sports, Orthopedic and Active Rehabilitation Inc. (2008); Christine Won Pat Baleto, general manager of Market Wholesale Distributors (2007); and Katherine C. Sgro, executive vice president and chairwoman of the board for Pay-Less Markets Inc. (2006).

For more information, contact Joy White, assistant editor of Guam Business Magazine, at (671) 649-0883 ext. 125 or assist_editor@glimpsesofguam.com, or Barbie Jane Agahan, assistant advertising manager of First Hawaiian Bank, at (671) 475-7908 or bagahan@fhb.com. (PR)