Peter Dames named president and CEO of Servco Pacific Inc.

Servco Pacific Inc. announced today that Peter Dames will become the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer on Oct. 1, 2023. Mark Fukunaga will step down as Chief Executive Officer and transition from Chairman to Executive Chair of the Board.

Rick Ching will retire as President and Chief Operating Officer on Oct. 1, but will remain a Director of Servco’s Global Mobility Board.

“Peter has been an invaluable leader in guiding Servco’s shift from a product-focused company to a services-based mobility business,” said Fukunaga in a news release announcement. “He truly exemplifies our core value of ‘continuous innovation,’ and I have every confidence that he, along with our incredible leadership team, will continue to build on Servco’s success.”

Dames who currently serves as Servco’s Executive Vice President with responsibility for Hawaiʻi automotive retail operations and marketing was named to his new role by Servco’s Board of Directors.

Dames joined the company in 2018 after serving on its board for two years. In addition to creating Servco’s digital strategy team, Dames is credited with leading the company’s automotive distribution and retail, IT, Hui Car Share and marketing.

As CEO, Dames will be responsible for all Servco businesses, including its automotive business in Hawaiʻi and Australia, musical instruments business, and venture capital investments.

Dames serves on for-profit boards for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Pacific Guardian Life, and the nonprofit boards of Japan America Society Hawaiʻi, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, and the TRUE Initiative.

“I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Mark and Rick for the past five years,” said Dames in the release. “They’ve built an amazing team with strong values and an unbeatable work ethic and have carried the company through unprecedented challenges such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fukunaga joined the company in 1988 and became CEO in 1994. Since then, Servco’s revenues have multiplied 12-fold to $3.2 billion in 2022. He is the third generation of leadership from the Fukunaga family. Mark’s grandfather, Peter, founded the company in 1919 as a two-car repair garage in Waialua.

In Fukunaga’s new role as Executive Chair of the Board, he will focus on the company’s growth initiatives, and together with Dames, continue to maintain and strengthen key business and family relationships. Fukunaga will continue as Chairman of the Board for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Ching has been part of Servco’s team for 38 years, holding various positions in corporate finance, including Chief Financial Officer. He moved into automotive operations in 2001 and was named President in 2009 and COO in 2014.

With Ching’s retirement, Servco will make the following additional changes to its automotive leadership team:

• Nick Pappas, Managing Director of Servco Australia, will add the titles of President/Managing Director of Servco Global Mobility group. He will be responsible for setting strategic direction for both Australia and Hawaiʻi Mobility operations. Pappas has 33 years of experience in the Australia automobile business. He will report to Peter Dames.
• Peter Hirano, Executive Vice President of Hawaiʻi Distribution, People and Strategy, will become Chief Operating Officer of Servco’s Hawaiʻi Mobility group and will oversee all automotive retail, distribution, and support functions in Hawaiʻi. Hirano has been with the company since 2017. He will report to Nick Pappas.