b'The CommishThos RohrDeveloping a long range, big-picture project such as Waikoloa Beach Resort takes a leader with keen instinct, business acumen, and an abundance of sheer persistence. Those are three traits that nicely sum up Thos Rohr, president and CEO of Waikoloa Land Company from 1988 to 2010. Known by friends and associates as The Commisha nickname he earned for his resolute ability to manage and orga-nize a field of prestigious celebrities and business executives at his high-profile golf tournaments; they were like herding cats! he saysRohr is widely regarded as someone who set new standards in the leisure hospitality industry in Hawai`i during his long career. ABOVE: A 1988 ad in the Wall Street Journal promoting Waikoloa as a place for investment. E S T A B L I S H I N G A P A T H the resort and sell real estate. It was such a successful venture that it The Commish is a pioneer, says Scott Head, vice president ofbecame the foundation for the Kapalua Invitational (now known as resort operations for Waikoloa Land Company, who workedthe SBS Tournament of Champions). alongside Rohr for several years. He developed and promotedArnold said, Ill throw a golf tournament for you, Rohr says, a golf lifestyle that is now so popular at island resorts, andand that created a lot of buzz and good publicity. knew how to publicize that lifestyle to raise the states profile, encourage investment, and bring people to Hawai`i. S E E I N G T H E F U T U R ERohr landed in Hawai`i on New Years Day 1960. He quicklyRohr brought both his keen promotional instincts and his friendship made a name for himself in the hotel industry, working first withwith Arnold Palmer with him to Waikoloa Beach Resort. When he Sheraton and then with Hilton. As he rose through the manage- was named president and CEO of Waikoloa Land Company in 1988, ment ranks, he became acquainted with many of the states mostconstruction was almost complete on the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa dynamic businesspeople, and in 1974 he was named president(now Hilton Waikoloa Village). and CEO of Kapalua Land Company. There, he played a majorAt the time, he says, the plan was to build four hotels and four role in establishing the resorts iconic butterfly logo and, workinggolf courses connected via a series of lagoons. There were no condos with Arnold Palmer, bringing professional golf to Maui.in the plan, and all development was to be on the makai (ocean) side Palmerwho with partner Ed Seay designed and built bothof the Kings Trail.the Kapalua Bay and (now-defunct) Kapalua Village coursesRealizing that that approach was not going to succeed in a locationcreated an event called The Golf Party to help Rohr marketas remote as Waikoloa was way back then, Rohr was determined to 4 6'