About Us

Inkinen & Associates

Inkinen & Associates has provided executive search services to Hawaii businesses since 1992. Our staff of seven (7) consultants are able to define and understand positions from an employer's point of view, fill vacancies with the firm's best interest in mind, and effectively support our clients with their human resources matters. This creates value and strength in our partnership and establishes the foundation for lasting and beneficial relationships.

Kathryn K. Inkinen

Email: kinkinen@inkinen.com

As President and Owner, Kathryn Inkinen created in 1992, and continues to build, a successful executive search and human resources consulting firm. Her professional foundation includes an extensive background in human resources management having held the top Human Resources positions for City Bank and Kahala Hilton. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Kathryn also serves on the Boards of several community organizations, some of which include the Travel Industry Management Alumni Association at the University of Hawaii, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross. She is a past inductee to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Alumni Hall of Honor, College of Business Administration.

Wendy L. R. Cook

Email: wcook@inkinen.com

Wendy Cook is an exceptional Executive Search professional who is dedicated to providing the highest level of consultative support and service to clients of Inkinen & Associates. Her strength is her highly evolved and developed skill of listening to the needs of our clients and effectively sourcing and presenting the right matches of high caliber candidates. Wendy’s extensive and varied professional work experience has ranged from working directly with the world renowned Jacques Cousteau, to delivering management training to applying and utilizing her talents in the fine arts, earning awards and status in exhibitions. Her varied endeavors have consistently involved the nurturing and development of relationships and people. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Lianne Maeda

Email: lmaeda@inkinen.com

Lianne Maeda has been involved in the career development field for over 20 years. She worked at the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations School-to-Work Transition Center Program where she developed and administered a career center and later performed administrative work involving curriculum development, program monitoring, budgeting, marketing, and staff development training for over 60 employees. Lianne also worked at Hawai‘i Pacific University for 12 ½ years first as the Director of Cooperative Education and Internships and then as the Director of the Career Services Center. In that capacity, she worked with countless employers and with students and alumni to assist both parties in finding the perfect match.
Lianne currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor’s Career Kokua Program. She is past President of the Pacific Association for Cooperative Education and also holds memberships in a number of professional organizations.

She received her BA in Psychology from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and an MS in Counseling Psychology from California State University, Fullerton.

Ann N. Katekaru

Email: akatekaru@inkinen.com

Ann Katekaru is a Senior Consultant with Inkinen & Associates providing human resources consulting services to corporate and individual clients with specialization in outplacement, career management, team building and coaching. Ann is a Licensed Representative and certified facilitator in the use and administration of the Professional Dynametrics Program™, a personal styles profiling tool supporting team building, employee development and pre-employment applications. Her background includes more than twenty years of Human Resources management experience and is certified as Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a designation earned through the Human Resources Certification Institute, the national accreditation body of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). She is a past Examiner for the Hawaii State Award of Excellence and earned a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Lorri L. Kobata

Email: lkobata@inkinen.com

Lorri Kobata is a Consultant with Inkinen & Associates providing a combination of human resources consulting and executive search services to corporate and individual clients. Lorri has more than fifteen years of Human Resources management experience. Prior to joining Inkinen & Associates, she was a Human Resources Officer with First Hawaiian Bank and Director of Personnel for Sheraton Hotels. Her responsibilities included employee relations, recruitment, training and development, and benefits administration. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Iris Lee

Email: ilee@inkinen.com

Iris Lee is a Search Consultant who is committed to finding great matches between individuals and companies. She achieves this through her superior listening and interpersonal skills. With over 20 years in business, Iris has keen insight into the dynamics of this competitive business environment.

Prior to joining Inkinen & Associates, she was in Sales Management with AT&T Wireless/Honolulu Cellular. Her background also includes extensive banking experience.

Christie Mukai

Email: cmukai@inkinen.com

Christie Mukai is an Executive Search Consultant who most recently worked as Executive Search Manager in Northern California conducting searches for positions such as CEO, President, Executive Director and CFO. Her professional background includes over 10 years of combined experience as a Recruiter and Human Resources generalist for companies such as Cheap Tickets Inc. and InterPacific Hawaii Retail Group. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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