Kim Lum
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Kim Lum joined Charles Pankow, Inc. as a field engineer in 1980. His career with the company is unusual, in that he left the firm and then returned after several years. The hiatus did not derail his progression into the ranks of executive management, however. In 2009 he replaced the retiring Thomas D. Verti as president of Pankow Operating, Inc., the general partner of Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd (CPBL). In this capacity, he served as part of the six-member management team that directed CPBL after the death of Charlie Pankow, in January 2004.
After graduating from the Punahou School three years ahead of President Barack Obama, Lum matriculated in the civil engineering program at Stanford University. In June 1980, he received a B.S. degree. Planning to return to "The Farm" in the fall to begin a master's program, Lum sought a summer job. He responded to Pankow's posting for full-time engineers at the career center and interviewed with William Heine, then operations manager for Charles Pankow Associates (CPA), the company's Hawaii subsidiary. Heine made an exception for Lum and recruited him to work temporarily on pre-construction activities associated with Windward Mall, a regional shopping center in Kaneohe, Oahu.
The project entered its construction phase as the fall semester approached. Because he was "learning too much," Lum petitioned Stanford to postpone his entry into the program. The University agreed, and so Lum began his career with Pankow as a field engineer on Windward Mall, where current Executive Chairman of the Board Richard M. Kunnath was superintendent. Lum asked for, and was granted, two more postponements from Stanford before he gave up the idea of pursuing a master's degree in construction management.
Lum also worked as a field engineer on Executive Centre, developer L. Robert Allen's mixed-use project that included 41-story Bishop Tower and a 12-story townhouse building with three levels of parking. On this project, he gained experience under the guidance of superintendent William "Red" Ward and project sponsor Al Fink.
From 1984 to 1987, Lum worked as an estimator in the Honolulu office. Eventually, he became CPA's principal estimator. He was also project manager on the Makai Market food court addition to Ala Moana Shopping Center and was project sponsor on Honolulu Tower, a 395-unit condominium.
In 1987 the commercial construction market in Hawaii was suffering. With a dearth of contracts in the Honolulu office, Lum decided to join American Constructors, an Austin, Texas-based construction firm started by William Heine. For his part, Heine had left Pankow soon after the reorganization of the company, which had been announced at the annual meeting in September 1986.
From 1987 to 1995, Lum worked in Hawaii on renovation and other projects that were similar in nature to those that Pankow Special Projects has undertaken since its creation in the 1990s. The business grew to reach $15 million in volume, but suffered significant losses on projects for the Lanai Company, a subsidiary of Castle & Cooke, one of Hawaii's so-called Big Five companies.
In April 1995, at the invitation of Rik Kunnath and Al Fink, Lum returned to Pankow in Hawaii as a project sponsor. Within a year, he was promoted to regional manager. The projects completed on his watch included the renovations of major resorts, including the Kapalua Bay Hotel, the Orchid at Mauna Lani, the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach Resort, and the Outrigger Wailea Resort.
In 2001 Lum became manager of the Northern California region. Several major projects were underway, including Hawthorne Place at 77 Dow and Yerba Buena Lofts in San Francisco, 555 City Center in Oakland, and Pacific Plaza in Daly City. With the collapse of commercial construction associated with the dot-com bust, Lum oversaw a number of smaller, renovation projects, and, with the construction of the San Mateo Public Library, helped to focus the firm's attention on institutional work that traditionally lay outside Charlie Pankow's business model.
In all, he has been responsible for more than $800 million in completed construction projects.
In 2008 Lum was named executive vice president of Pankow Operating, Inc. As indicated, he became president of Pankow Operating, Inc. the following year and, in July 2012, he added the role of Chief Executive Officer to his current position as President, replacing Rik Kunnath.
Kim Lum is a Designated Design-Build Professional and a LEED Accredited Professional. He has served as both a board member and the chair of the education committee of the Design-Build Institute of America's Western Pacific Region. He serves as a member of the DBIA's national board of directors.
